Following an extended closure since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020, Alexandria’s public beaches have reopened under strict cautionary measures.
Alexandria Governor Muhammad al-Sharif said on Egyptian TV’s Channel I that the city’s 66 beaches, which are operated by licensed private operators answerable to the governrate authorities, would be regularly monitored to ensure cautionary measures are observed; otherwise, he said, a violating operator would be fined EGP4,000 and the license revoked.
“The distance between beach umbrellas,” Governor Sharif said, “has to be no less than 4 metres. The number of individuals allowed in should be restricted to 50 per cent of the capacity of the beach; temperatures are taken at the entrance gates; and masks are mandatory.” These measures also apply to private beaches, he said.
Alexandria’s newest public beach is free of entry charge, said General Gamal Rashad, head of Alexandria’s central administration for tourism and summer resorts. General Rashad said that its opening comes in fulfillment of a promise by Governor Sharif to give Alexandria residents a free-of-charge public beach. He told Watani that the new beach is in Mandara, east of Alexandria, and stretches over a 230metre-beachfront of the best sands in Alexandria. The beach, he said, boasts a 25m long and 15m wide sunshade, in addition to umbrellas, chairs and tables. It can be accessed through three gates. It also features a medical station, lifesaving facilities and personnel, administrative office, restrooms and changing rooms, as well as two coffeeshops.
Watani International
23 May 2021