A Spanish municipal official has apologized for spraying a local beach with bleach in an effort to combat COVID-19. Government officials in Zahara de los Atunes in southern Spain sent tractors to spray beach at local beaches. The country has been under lockdown since the middle of March, and this week marks the first time children under the age of 14 will be able to go outside (albeit only for an hour).
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The decision to spray the beach has come under fire from environmental groups in the country. In addition to the ecosystem disruption caused by the bleach, the use of tractors could crush eggs from birds using the beach as a nesting ground. In a twitter post, Greenpeace Spain said,
Fumigating beaches with bleach in the middle of bird-breeding season or during the development of the invertebrate network that will support coastal fishing … is not one of [Donald] Trump’s ideas. It is happening in Zahara de los Atunes,”
Translated from Greenpeace Spain