China's beach resort city, Sanya, is strengthening its ban on nude sunbathing and swimming on public beaches this month, but experts are calling for patients with psoriasis treating their diseases with sun to have their space.

Starting on Sunday, Sanya police took several measures to beef up the ban: increasing patrols on public beaches, passing out fliers to discourage people from naked sunbathing, and taking pictures of violators. High-definition surveillance cameras are also being installed.

Since Feb 8, nude sunbathing and swimming at public beaches has been forbidden. Violators will be detained for five to 10 days. So far, two people have been detained since the ban was imposed.

But, Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociologist at Renmin University of China who researches outdoor recreation in the country, said most nude sunbathers in Sanya are psoriasis patients.

"These people are not intentionally exposing their private parts. They need sunshine for medical treatment," Zhou said.

Shen Hong, a dermatologist at Hangzhou No 3 People's Hospital, said psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that is difficult to cure.

"For patients with psoriasis, red patches with scales will occur, especially on their scalp, ears and genitalia. Abundant sunshine and washing with seawater can relieve the pain caused by these patches," he said.

Sanya Mayor Wang Yong conceded that psoriasis patients are among the nude beachgoers in the city.

"There were dozens of patients with such skin disease when nude sunbathing started to appear in Sanya in 2002," he said. "They had notices from doctors, suggesting that they sunbathe for a certain amount of time. But we do not think this should take place in the city, especially when the group of patients has grown to the hundreds."

Wang said nude swimming and sunbathing is uncivilized behaviour and may disturb other beachgoers.

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Skin rash patients hardest hit by ban on beach nudity at Sanya