São Paulo: 12 Beachfront Cities Ignore State Restrictions against Crowded Beaches

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Twelve municipalities along the São Paulo coast decided not to comply with the State government’s decision to temporarily place all state municipalities in the red phase of the São Paulo Plan in order to halt the spread of coronavirus. The weekend began with large tourist activity and crowded beaches. The cities say they have stepped up their inspection of protocols.

Among the cities maintaining the yellow phase are nine municipalities of Baixada Santista (Bertioga, Cubatão, Guarujá, Itanhaém, Mongaguá, Peruíbe, Praia Grande, Santos, São Vicente), as well as Caraguatatuba, Ubatuba and São Sebastião on the northern coastline. In addition to these, Mogi das Cruzes and Cotia, in Greater São Paulo, and Bauru, in the interior, also decided not to restrict the measures against Covid-19.

The government’s guideline was that the red phase should remain in force between December 25th and 27th and between January 1st and 3rd. The administration said at the time that it expected compliance from municipalities and would communicate and notify cities that failed to abide by the guidelines.

“The holiday is nice, people are on the beach. The pandemic conditioned things, but people want to have fun. I think tourists are coming down before December 31st and January 1st, since there will be restrictions. I noticed that for a Christmas holiday the flow of people is higher, there are many people wanting to exercise,” said the owner of the Surf and Stand-Up Paddle School, Neno Matos, who works in Praia das Astúrias, in Guarujá.

“The State’s decision was very short notice. Most businesses had already stocked up and hired extra labor for the period. Had we complied with the decree we would have caused losses and unemployment. We are attentive, if need be we will implement restrictive measures,” said the Mayor of Caraguatatuba, Aguilar Junior.

According to the president of the Union of Hotels, Bars and Restaurants of Baixada Santista and Vale do Ribeira, Heitor Gonzalez, the lack of communication during the region’s transition to the yellow phase has affected businessmen. “There were many communication failures on the part of some coastal cities, which caused much confusion in the market. It was unclear what could and could not be done. First it was not possible to rent real estate, hotel bookings that had been made were maintained, but new ones could not be made. Then tables and chairs were not allowed on the beach, then later they were,” he said. “It’s one of the worst Christmas holidays in recent years. Today we are working at 45% capacity,” explained Gonzalez.

Despite projections, the weekend, which began with the Christmas holiday, boosted market activity with lines. In North coast stores, flow was also high, requiring tourists to be patient.

The cities say they have reinforced inspection and are preparing measures in an attempt to restrain activity in the region. Baixada Santista will close access to beaches on December 31st and January 1st, the turn of the new year, as a means to prevent an increase in tourists and crowds during the pandemic.

City Halls of Baixada Santista municipalities are planning barriers to prevent access by vans, buses and minibuses with no prior authorization from the Tourism Secretariat on December 31st, from 10 AM to 6 PM. Access of other vehicles is free as usual.

The São Sebastião City Hall reported that it has maintained roadblocks on the city’s borders and sanitary inspections since Saturday. The city hall of Ubatuba announced that there are no plans to close the beaches.