Updated April 20, 2020 00:04:54

Photo: Randwick's mayor said closing beaches like Clovelly had helped control the virus. (AAP: Joel Carrett)

A council in Sydney's east has announced it will re-open its beaches for exercise from Monday despite NSW Health singling out the area as a coronavirus hotspot.

The barriers will come down at Coogee, Maroubra and Clovelly beaches on Monday after they were closed about a month ago to stop people from congregating.

Randwick Council said the spread had been slowed and allowing access again was in the interests of locals' wellbeing.

However, some feel the decision is bewildering as Randwick has the 10th-highest rate of COVID-19 in NSW.

For a number of weeks, NSW Health has urged anyone in Randwick, and 12 other council areas identified as high risk, to get tested due to local coronavirus outbreaks.

Randwick has a particularly high number of cases (18) with an unknown source of infection, just behind Waverley (27) and Sydney (31).

Nevertheless, Randwick Mayor Danny Said was confident people had got the message now and would practice social distancing while walking, running, swimming or surfing at the beaches.

"The past three weeks have been difficult as we've all had to make changes and sacrifices to our daily routines," he said.

"We appreciate that with the current restrictions in place people are increasingly looking for access to more open spaces including water for their physical and mental well-being."

Sitting on the sand, sunbaking and gathering in a group are still prohibited and the Mayor warned police and council staff would be all eyes.

Photo: Coogee beach, popular with backpackers, will re-open to the public from Monday. (Instagram: Gary Finn)

After the council shared the announcement on Facebook, hundreds tagged their friends to organise visits to beaches on Monday, in particular Coogee.

Many said their mental health had suffered as a result of coronavirus restrictions and the decision was the "best news" in a month.

"You never realise how much the water affects your physical and mental health until you can't have it anymore. Can't wait till tomorrow comes," Michael Shum said.

"Your much-appreciated awareness of how so many people love their beaches is commendable," Sharon Hodgins posted.

Many criticised the re-opening as too much, too soon though and feared it would undo all progress made in containing the spread of the virus.

"What has changed since the closures? If closing the beaches helped stop the spread, what's the argument for not keeping the same restrictions?" Michael Hooper posted.

"I think this is premature. The east still has a high number of cases. Whilst we all want to go to the beach, we need to stop the spread," Sarah Kelly said.

Breaking down the latest news and research to understand how the world is living through an epidemic, this is the ABC's Coronacast podcast.

Waverley Council, which takes in the suburb of Bondi, has flatly rejected the idea of re-opening its beaches due to the high rates of infection in the area.

"It has been reported in the media that [Waverley] Council is working on a proposal to reopen its beaches. I strongly reiterate that this is not the case," Mayor Paula Masselos said.

"The Waverley [local government area] is a hotspot for coronavirus cases."

However, Ms Masselos confirmed the council was working on possible measures which would allow people to access the water for swimming and surfing.

After hundreds of people turned out to Bondi on a hot day last month, the Waverley Council shutdown its three beaches — Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte.

Topics: health, diseases-and-disorders, infectious-diseases-other, covid-19, local-government, coogee-2034, randwick-2031, maroubra-2035, clovelly-2031

First posted April 19, 2020 18:07:05