GENOA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2020) The attendance policy for beaches in Italy will see dramatic changes in the coming season because of the need to ensure high safety standards amid the coronavirus emergency, Marina Lalli, vice-president of Federturismo Confindustria, the Italian travel and tourism federation, has told Sputnik.
Fabrizio Licordari, president of Assobalneari, the Italian beaches association, told Sputnik in an interview on Thursday that the measure that had been seriously considered and seemed feasible was marking spaces on the beaches to ensure a safe distance between people. He called measuring the distance between umbrellas or installing plexiglass booths useless and hardly implementable.
"Apps, thermoscanners, distance between umbrellas, planning of the entries, hand sanitizer dispensers, kits with gloves, masks and gels for customers - the proposals are abundant, but precise indications from the government institutions on the reopening dates and on the sanitary protocols to be adopted are still lacking," Lalli said, calling going to the beach this summer "a real 'revolution.'"�
She added that serious protocols were needed on the distances between umbrellas which, however, must not be excessive, as the most recent rumors have suggested 33 feet between them, otherwise they risk becoming inapplicable for most organized beaches.
"An alternative could be the placement of warning tapes to demark spaces available for individual families where sunbeds and umbrellas could be installed," Lalli said.
She added that the officials need to hurry up because timeframes were already very tight if they wanted to reopen beaches on June 1.
On April 26, the central government adopted the "Phase Two" decree in which it allowed, starting on May 4, visits to relatives within one region, funerals with the participation of not more than 15 people, sports activities and visits to public parks. Beaches remained closed. It was left to the regional authorities to specify these measures or to maintain certain limitations for longer if needed.
The decree envisages the further easing of the lockdown starting on May 18.
On Thursday, the governor of the region of Veneto, Luca Zaia, said that beaches and touristic activities in Veneto must be opened with no delays since the epidemiological picture has changed.
