Spanish local council bleached beach ‘to protect kids from virus’

The head of a Spanish coastal town has apologized after “disinfecting” nearly two kilometres of sandy beach with watered-down bleach in a misguided effort to avoid the coronavirus spread.

Agustín Conejo, head of the local council of Zahara de los Atunes, told local media the bleaching was ordered with the goal of protecting children, who were allowed Sunday to play outdoors for the first time in weeks of mandatory confinement.

Three tractors used for fumigating farming land combed a stretch of the beach while spreading 1000 litres of water with a concentration of two per cent of bleach, the regional Diario de Cádiz reported.

Conejo says he failed to assess the environmental damage of his initiative, calling it “a mistake,” and adds he’s willing to accept any fines.

Regional environmental authorities have opened a disciplinary report that could lead to fining the town.

María Dolores Iglesias, the head of an environmental volunteer group in the region, told local media she visited the beach and saw the damage first-hand.

She said the cleaning process had “killed everything on the ground, nothing is seen, not even insects”.

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“Bleach is used as a very powerful disinfectant, it is logical that it be used to disinfect streets and asphalt, but here the damage has been brutal.

“They have devastated the dune spaces and gone against all the rules.”