Tourists are being urged to stay away from beaches and other holiday destinations in the UK to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Cumbria Police said despite Government advice to avoid non-essential travel, the Lake District and other tourist hotspots in the UK were experiencing an ‘influx’ of visitors.
The force has now urged people from outside its county to keep away, stating that the Lake District is ‘no longer conducting business as usual’, with pubs, restaurants and attractions advised to close.
It comes as yesterday the National Trust made a dramatic U-turn and closed all its parks and gardens – leaving many with no where to go for a Mother’s Day walk today.
Tourists are being urged to stay away from beaches and other holiday destinations in the UK to limit the spread of coronavirus. Pictured: a busy beach in Sandbanks, Poole yesterday
Yesterday the National Trust made a dramatic U-turn and closed all its parks and gardens. Pictured: members of the public walk in the grounds of the National Trust’s Dunham Massey Park in Altrincham on Friday
In addition West Wittering Beach in Chichester, south-east England, has closed to the public after the number of visitors on Saturday ‘far exceeded’ expectations, the estate owners said.
Meanwhile, the Visit Cornwall tourist board published a statement on Friday asking people to postpone their visits to a later date ‘despite the lack of clarity from Government’ around the situation.
This morning in an interview with BBC Breakfast National Clinical Director for Scotland, professor Jason Leitch also warned against people flooding tourist sites.
This morning in an interview with BBC Breakfast National Clinical Director for Scotland, professor Jason Leitch (pictured) also warned against people flooding tourist sites
The National Trust had originally said it would keep gardens and parks open to the public but last night changed their minds
He said that UK holiday makers travelling domestically don’t have to cancel plans but must continue to carry out social distancing. He added that healthcare services in the Scottish Highlands and islands are not ready for a huge surge in patients.
He said: ‘What we don’t want is hoards of camper vans coming to Fort William because the health service will not be able to manage that, because some people will get sick.’
In a statement on Saturday, Cumbria Police’s assistant chief constable Andrew Slattery said: ‘Whilst we are looking at all measures to limit the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, I must urge people living outside the county not to visit.
‘A national emergency shut-down of businesses and schools is not an excuse for a holiday.
‘Cumbria County Council yesterday urged people to stay at home as far as possible to protect out NHS and save lives. I reiterate that advice and it is important that we all follow it.’
People out walking and enjoying the spring sunshine at Mottisfont, one of the National Trust parklands in Romsey yesterday
A man walks his dog on Lyme Regis Beach in Dorset yesterday. Many beaches will now be closed due to the coronavirus outbreak
Members of the public out on the promenade today in Brighton as they keep up their exercise during the coronavirus pandemic
In a statement, Mr Slattery said public services within the county, located in north-west England, are resourced to serve its population of 500,000 and will be ‘stretched to breaking point’ by the coronavirus pandemic.
‘Large numbers of visitors will only place an additional burden on these hard-pushed professionals,’ he added.
‘These are unprecedented times and our first priority is the protection of life. People’s lives must come first.’
Elsewhere, the West Wittering Estate posted a message on its website to say its beach and car park would be closed as remaining open had ‘encouraged an unacceptable movement of people’ into the local community.
‘We understand that the restrictions imposed by the government make us an attractive option for exercise, dog walking, and socialising, but we cannot in good conscience remain open to the public,’ it said.
The National Trust’s move to shut premises comes just days after they said they would keep many of their gardens and parks open for free allowing people to ‘relax and refresh’.
Punt chauffeurs take empty punts down the river Cam in Cambridge to be taken out of the river for storage as a result of the covid-19 outbreak
An outdoor gym class on Brighton seafront with the participants socially distancing, on day two of the coronavirus lockdown
Walkers try to maintain their normal routines as they take a stroll through Richmond Park in London this morning
People walk through Greenwich Park in London as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues
National Trust director general Hilary McGrady said: ‘Despite our desire to keep our outdoor spaces open, the health and wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and visitors has to be our top priority.
‘Having observed the numbers visiting our properties today I am no longer convinced we can maintain social distancing over Mother’s Day when numbers are likely to grow, and beyond.’
On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered pubs and restaurants across the country to close in a bid to impact the infection rate by reducing ‘unnecessary’ social gatherings by 75%.
In a statement, the Visit Cornwall website posted: ‘Despite the lack of clarity from the Government, Visit Cornwall is advising that visitors should not come to Cornwall at this time.’