Spraying disinfectant on beaches to prevent Covid-19.

"It's absolutely ridiculous. The beach is a living ecosystem. When you spray bleach on it, you're killing everything," said Maria Doloré Iglesias Benitez, head of a local marine environmental protection organization.

The fishing village of Zahara de los Atunes is home to the ring-necked plover and several other migratory bird species. During the six weeks the beach was closed, Benítez hoped the number of nests in the area would double this year. "Now, I worry that the tractors spraying disinfectant have crushed the bird eggs," she said. Benítez's group filed a complaint with the local authorities, attracting the attention of major environmental organizations such as Greenpeace Spain.

"Spraying disinfectant on beaches during bird breeding season or while invertebrate populations are developing, which would support coastal fishing, is not one of Donald Trump's ideas. It's happening in Zahara de los Atunes," Greenpeace Spain wrote on Twitter, referring to the US President's recent proposal to study injecting disinfectant into the human body to combat Covid-19.

An official from the Andalusian regional government said they are investigating the matter amid reports that officials and the Zahara de los Atunes business association carried out beach disinfection without permission.

Agustín Conejo, a local official, said the action stemmed solely from a desire to protect children. "I admit it was a mistake," he said. "But it was done with good intentions."

Spain is the world's second-largest epicenter of the pandemic, with 232,128 confirmed cases and 23,822 deaths as of April 29th. On April 26th, Spain eased restrictions, allowing children to play outside for one hour within a 1km radius under supervision. Adults will be permitted to go out for exercise and walks from next weekend if the pandemic situation improves.

Ha Le