Thousands visit dolomite beach

Despite rains and pandemic restrictions, thousands trooped to the Manila Bay dolomite beach yesterday.

At least 4,000 people visited the man-made beach before dawn yesterday, Manila Bay coordinating office deputy executive director Jacob Meimban Jr. told dzMM.

Visitors need to be allowed inside the 1.2-hectare dolomite beach to prevent them from crowding at the entrance, Meimban said.

“With a 12,000-square-meter area, we can implement social distancing even with 5,000 people,” Meimban said.

But according to radio reports, the visitors failed to observe physical distancing in the dolomite beach at past 7 a.m. yesterday.

Meimban said implementing social distancing in the area is challenging because family members usually stick together during the visit.

Crowds should be allowed inside to prevent a superspreader event at the entrance, he said.

“People are mobile in the dolomite beach, giving them elbow room to walk around, as opposed to if we let them wait outside where they are static,” Meimban said.

He said the dolomite beach would be closed to the public on Friday for maintenance work.

At least 25,000 people have visited the dolomite beach along Manila’s Baywalk since it reopened on Oct. 16 following the easing of quarantine restrictions in the National Capital Region under Alert Level 3, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.

Swimming remains prohibited as the bay’s chloroform levels have yet to reach the standard fit for recreational activities, the DENR said.

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