The beaches of Fuseta Ria in Olhão and Armacao de Pêra in Silves in the Algarve are closed to swimming from Tuesday, the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) said.
Sources from the captains of Olhão, which is responsible for the Fuseta area, and Portimão, which is responsible for the beaches in the Silves area, told Luce that the decision was based on water samples that revealed the presence of E. coli in the case of Fuseta and enterococci in the case of Armação de Pêra.
“At 11am, a message was received from a health official that swimming was prohibited,” Olhão Port Captain Alexandre Algarvio told Luce, stating that this was the same sample that was taken on Monday and that “a new sample has been collected today for analysis.”
Environmental authorities will now carry out a new analysis to determine whether the ban on Fuseta Ria beach, located in Ria Formosa (Faro district), remains in place, the port captain added.
Regarding the Armação de Pêra case, the Port Master of Portimão informed Luce that the Algarve Hydrographic Region (ARH) Administration, at the suggestion of the Algarve Regional Health Authority, advised against going to the baths due to the results of the harvest analysis carried out on Monday.
Since “the level of intestinal enterococci was found above the limit value, swimming is not recommended,” said Eduardo Pousadas Godinho, stressing that the measure came into force on Tuesday and will remain in force at least until the fair on Wednesday.
The same source stressed that this forecast still needs to be confirmed, as it depends on the results of the samples collected.
The red flag flies on these beaches.