At 7.30am on Tuesday there were already more footprints on Cape Town’s Muizenberg Beach than there had been during the entire previous month. In the parking lot at Surfers’ Corner surfers waxed their boards, while dog-walkers, runners and other exercise enthusiasts wandered the shoreline. Some maintained social-distancing measures. Some did not. Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Monday, 1 February, that beaches, dams, rivers and public swimming pools will be reopened, subject to health protocols, South Africans seized the opportunity to return to the sand, soak up the sun and swim. Beaches in the Eastern Cape and along the Garden Route have been closed to the public since 16 December 2020. And, on that day, it was also announced that KwaZulu-Natal beaches would be closed for public holidays during the festive season, as well as on 2-3 January.