Spain forced to shut 55 beaches in Costa Del Sol and turn away British tourists amid social distancing fears

Scores of popular tourist beaches were forced to turn away visitors over the weekend after crowds defied social distancing rules.

Some 29 beaches reached full capacity in Malaga, Costa del Sol - just as thousands of Brits were planning to jet out for long-awaited holidays.

Another 26 beaches had to restrict access elsewhere in Andalusia, in the districts of Cádiz, Huelva, Almería and Granada, local newspaper Sur reported.

Around 55 Spanish beaches were reportedly shut due to overcrowding at some point on Sunday.

It came as 280,000 Spanairds were plunged back into full lockdown at the weekend after a surge in coronavirus cases.

Flights to Andalusia resumed late last month and hotels, restaurants and bars have gradually welcomed back tourists.

However, five of the eight provinces of Andalusia have reported new Covid-19 outbreaks since Spain lifted its state of emergency on June 21. Malaga has seen 90 new confirmed infections in the past week.

Catalan authorities in El Segria, around the city of Lleida, a region with a population of about 210,000 west of Barcelona, imposed a new lockdown in response to a spike in cases.

Residents were given until 4pm on Saturday to enter the area and are not allowed to leave, unless they are essential workers. Non-residents were allowed to escape before the sweeping rules returned.

Travel is now heavily limited in the region and police have set up checkpoints.

Regional health authorities said on Friday that they had registered a jump in 60 cases in 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to over 4,000 in the county.

On Sunday, more than 70,000 people in La Marina, north of Lugo in Galicia, were too told they would be barred from leaving the area from midnight, except in exceptional circumstances.

As part of the extra Covid-19 measures, residents will be required to wear face masks at all times apart from when they are eating, drinking or swimming.

The fresh outbreaks in Spain have raised doubts about the UK’s “air bridge” with the country, announced by the Government on Friday, which allows Brits to travel to there without having to quarantine at either end.

The travel corridors to 73 nations will open for England from July 10 and also include France, Germany and Italy, but exclude Portugal, Canada and the United States.

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