Despite closures up and down the NSW coast, beaches and ocean baths in the Mid Coast local government area (LGA) remain open.
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MidCoast Council community spaces, recreation and trades manager, Dan Aldridge, said council had received no advice suggesting that beaches needed to be closed in the area.
"At this point in time there's no need to close our beaches as long as people are observing social distancing guidelines," he said.
Mr Aldridge said this extended to the various ocean pools throughout the area, such as Forster Ocean Baths (The Bullring), Tuncurry Rock Pool, Black Head Ocean Pool and the Little Street Baths.
"Anything that's not chlorinated remains open because we haven't received information that suggests we need to close them," he said.
Mr Aldridge said Forster Ocean Baths had been closed for a number of days due to a sea turtle seeking refuge in there, not because of the threat of COVID-19.
The sea turtle was removed on Monday, March 30, before the pool was cleaned and reopened.
However, while Mid Coast beaches remain open for the time being, a public health order introduced overnight by the NSW Government means that unless you're at the beach for exercise, you could be hit with an $11,000 fine or jailed for up to six months.
Existing social distancing guidelines also remain in place, as do current rules restricting social gatherings to no more than two people.
Surf Life Saving NSW made the decision to cancel all volunteer surf lifesaving patrols across NSW last week, meaning that beaches across the Mid Coast would not be patrolled over the weekends.
A number of councils across NSW have chosen to close their beaches, especially in metropolitan areas.
Newcastle City Council closed all its beaches, ocean baths and playgrounds on Monday to help limit the spread of coronavirus.
Waverley and Randwick councils in Sydney's eastern suburbs closed their beaches more than a week ago, after large crowds continued to flout social distancing guidelines.
Some beaches in the Northern Beaches LGA have also been closed.
While Mr Aldridge couldn't confirm whether beaches across the Mid Coast would remain open going forward, he said MCC would continue to observe information and advice from the State and Federal governments.
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