To prevent large crowds of shutterbugs, police on Wednesday have sealed off a portion of the footbridge overlooking the Manila Bay dolomite beach.
People swarmed the artificial white beach when it was opened last weekend. Visitors failed to observe social distancing, which resulted in the removal of the Ermita police station head.
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Police initially turned away spectators from the "Manila Bay Sands" following the incident, before eventually allowing them to take photos from a safe distance. Manila Mayor Isko Moreno urged the public to avoid going there due to COVID-19 risk.
"Hindi naman po bawal dumaan doon kasi sidewalk naman po 'yun at may footbridge po dun. Free flow po yung passage natin doon. Dadaan lang po sila at kung magpapa-picture, sandali lang po," the police station commander in the area, Lt. Col. Alex Daniel, told DZBB radio.
(People can pass by because it's a sidewalk and there's a footbridge there. There's free flowing passage there. They can pass by and if they want to take a photo, only for a short while.)
