Beachgoer perceptions on health regulations of COVID-19 in two popular beaches on the Brazilian Amazon

Pereira, Luci Cajueiro Carneiro; de Sousa Felix, Rosigleyse Corrêa; Brito Dias, Ana Beatriz; Pessoa, Rubem Manoel Coelho; da Silva, Brenda Ribeiro Padilha; da Costa Baldez, Carlos Alessandro; da Costa, Rauquírio Marinho; da Silva, Taynara Sousa; da Silva Assis, Luciane Ferreira; Jimenez, José A.

The sandy beaches of the Brazilian Amazon coast have enormous touristic potential and attract thousands of visitors each year, principally in July, at the beginning of the summer vacation period. In 2020, beach going was affected worldwide by the Covid-19 pandemic, but how did the pandemic affect recreational beach use on the Amazon coast in the Brazilian state of Pará? Given this, the objective of this work is to identify public perception in compliance with health safety established by authorities due to COVID-19 pandemic in two popular beaches on the Brazilian Amazon. Recreational patterns on the beaches of this region were analyzed from the user's perspective in July, through semi-structured interviews and direct observations. Recreational activities were prohibited on the beaches located within protected areas. At other locations, however, including Ajuruteua and Atalaia, the beaches were reopened on July 1 st, and both sites received thousands of visitors in July, despite the fact that interviewees believed the pandemic to be dangerous, and considered the situation in Pará state to be at least as bad or worse than in previous months. Agglomerations were verified on both study beaches and social distancing and other protective measures were limited. The increase in the new cases recorded in August was due to the relaxation of restrictions on social, recreational, and economic activities by the local authorities in July 2020, including the reopening of public access to beaches. As Pará state has been hard-hit by the pandemic, prohibitions on recreational beach use should clearly not have been lifted during this period. A number of management measures were presented in this study. These measures should contribute to the prevention of the spread of the virus during the upcoming public holidays, as long as the pandemic continues.