Female surfer is dragged away by hazmat-wearing officials and arrested on Spanish beach after going in the sea while infected with Covid-19
- The unnamed woman had worked as a lifeguard at the beach in San Sebastian
- Her colleagues were the ones to call the police after they saw her surfing
- She faces a fine of up to £5,500 for breaching Spain’s strict quarantine rules
- However, this could rise to over £100,000 if she is found to have spread Covid-19
A woman was arrested on a Spanish beach after going surfing while she was suffering from coronavirus.
Police handcuffed her on La Zurriola beach in the northern city of San Sebastian.
She was held on suspicion of a crime of disobedience after reportedly ignoring officers who ordered her out of the water for several minutes before heading back to the shoreline.
Local reports said the unnamed woman had worked as a lifeguard at San Sebastian’s famous La Concha beach this summer and colleagues were the ones who phoned police after spotting her in the water.
Photos published by a local paper showed two people in hazmat suits escorting her on the sand in a neoprene top and bikini bottom with a face mask on.
A woman (pictured wearing a neoprene top and bikini bottom) was arrested on a Spanish beach after going surfing while she was suffering from coronavirus. After being handcuffed, she was then seen being leg away by officials wearing hazmat suits (pictured left and right)
The woman was held on suspicion of a crime of disobedience after reportedly ignoring officers who ordered her out of the water for several minutes before heading back to the shoreline
She is expected to face a heavy fine for breaching strict quarantine rules which could be up to £5,500.
However, if it is discovered she has passed coronavirus on to another person through her actions, the fine would be more than £100,000.
The arrested woman has not been named.
Police handcuffed her on La Zurriola beach in the northern city of San Sebastian after she initially ignored their requests for her to return to shore. She faces a fine of up to £5,500, but this could rise to more than £100,000 if she is found to have spread the disease to others
On Monday, Spain became the first country in Western Europe to register 500,000 coronavirus infections.
Health Ministry data showed a total of 525,549 cases, up from 498,989 on Friday, and 2,440 infections registered in the previous 24 hours.
Spain updates its data retroactively, so the latest numbers could be revised.
Recent infections have been more common among younger people who often develop no symptoms thanks to their stronger immune systems.
The death rate remains far below the March-April peak when daily fatalities routinely exceeded 800.
People enjoy a warm afternoon at Sant Sebastian beach, in Barcelona on September 5 after one of the world’s toughest lockdowns
In contrast, on Monday Spain recorded 98 new coronavirus-related deaths since Friday.
Despite the unwanted milestone, unlike then, hospitals have enough beds to treat Covid-19 patients.
After a first wave in spring that ravaged Spain’s elderly population and overwhelmed the hospital system, authorities brought the outbreak under control with the help of one of the world’s toughest lockdowns.
But as restrictions on movement were lifted and mass testing began in late June, infections rose from a few hundred a day to a new peak of over 10,000 around 10 days ago, outstripping other hard-hit nations such as France, Britain and Italy.
The overall mortality rate since the pandemic first struck is around 6% in Spain, lower than in Italy, Britain and France.