Matt Hancock has warned he has the power to close beaches after a “major incident” was declared in Bournemouth today.
The Health Secretary warned the Government was “perfectly prepared” to “take action” if people continue to flout social distancing rules.
He told talkRADIO that the virus “does not respect that it’s a hot summer’s day”.
His comments came as police and council officials deal with a day of chaos and carnage in the Dorset seaside town which police said saw them "stretched to the absolute hilt".
Thousands of revellers flocked to the beach on the hottest day of the year so far with roads becoming gridlocked, rubbish puling up and reports of fights and anti-social behaviour.
There was also a death on Worthing beach, a large police operation in a Glasgow park and a mass brawl on Exmouth beach among other incidents.
Asked if it was time to consider closing beaches, Hancock said: “We do have that power, we do have that power. I’m reluctant to use it because you know, people have had a pretty tough lockdown, and everybody should be able to enjoy the sunshine.
“The key is to do it with respect, stay with your households, stay a good distance from other households.
“Outside is safer than inside. You’ve got to respect the rules, respect the fact that social distancing is still important.”
He added: “As we do have those powers, if we see a spike in the number of cases, then we will take action.
“And we have taken that sort of local action already over the last few weeks in some other parts of the country, and we’ll keep absolutely vigilant.”
Downing Street later rowed back on his comments.
A No10 spokesman said: "I believe Matt Hancock, when he spoke, was referring to the powers to impose localised lockdowns.
"We have been clear throughout [they] may need to be the case if we see case numbers rise in a particular area."
When it comes to directly shutting beaches, he added: "Local authorities are best-placed to make these decisions on a case-by-case basis."
Any local lockdowns could close schools, shops and public spaces like beaches - but crucially, they would likely only come after a spike in the number of cases.
Hancock reminded listeners that coronavirus virus spreads from social contact and urged people to “not throw away all that good work.”
“That is why we have still got social distancing in place even thought we’re able, from next weekend, to be able to reopen some things that we weren’t before,” he said. “Because we’ve got it under control.”
He added: “People need to keep following the social distancing , it’s there for a reason.
“The last thing anybody once is this virus to keep going again and to take off.
“And if people respond to the changes that we’ve been able to make – and stop the social distancing – then the virus doesn't respect the fact that it’s a hot summer’s day.
“We’ve got to keep the social distancing and keep respecting the fact we’ve got to stop the transmission of this disease.”
He added that he was not worried about the test and trace scheme not being able to cope with the situation.
He said: “I’m worried that every positive case, every extra transmission that the test and trace scheme has to deal with, is another person who has got coronavirus. That’s what I want to stop.
“I’m less worried about the operation side, I’m much more worried about the spread of the disease.
“Unless we respect social distancing, then unfortunately as we have seen in some other parts of the world, the disease comes back and we have to take action, and we're perfectly prepared to.”
