Trinis crowd beaches for 'last dip' ahead of new restrictions

Hundreds of people flocked to beaches on Sunday for a "last dip" ignoring Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley's advice to behave as though new COVID-19 rollback measures are already in place.

Rowley, on Saturday, announced that beaches and rivers would be closed to the public until mid-September in light of the recent spike in virus cases.

These measures take effect from 6 am tomorrow. But beaches along the North Coast were packed with citizens on Sunday.

Reports have come in that Maracas Beach and Las Cuevas are packed today, with heavy traffic along the North Coast Road up until the time of publication.

At Las Cuevas, the beach’s Eco-Friendly Association reported that throngs of mostly families were at the beaches from as early as 9 am.

The group pleaded with citizens to take extra precaution in light of the recent spike in cases.

Measures announced by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on Saturday will remain in effect for the next 28 days.

Additional measures include the suspension of in-house dining at bars and restaurants, the closure of gyms, casinos and members clubs and houses of worship.

Public transportation will revert to operating at 50 per cent capacity while domestic travel will be limited to essential travel only.

These restrictions are expected to help curb the spread of the virus which saw a significant jump in cases in the past week owing to community spread.