It’s safe in the water, health experts say, but outside most of the county’s pools, several safety precautions are being put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus while allowing families to enjoy what’s left of an unusual summer.
More of the county’s pools will open to the public next weekend, offering a relatively safe summer activity for families, experts say.
In the water, it is possible to stay safe from COVID-19. There is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs or water playgrounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Routine maintenance with pool chemicals such as chlorine and bromine “should inactivate the virus," the CDC said.
Outside the water, where hundreds could potentially gather, many precautions are being put in place. Local parks departments are using guidance from the CDC, state and Johnson County Health Department to inform their policies.
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Masks are not required at local pools, but state health officials and the CDC say people should continue to wear masks, especially in circumstances where social distancing may not be possible.
Pool staff are also cleaning common areas such as bathrooms and handrails throughout the day.
Hand sanitizer stations will be available. For example, the sunscreen stations at Freedom Springs Aquatic Center and Edinburgh Aquatic Center are now filled with sanitizer instead.
Pool goers in Franklin and Edinburgh will have to bring a towel or chair from home as deck chairs will not be available this summer, parks leaders said. Chairs are still available at Freedom Springs this year, but they will be placed six feet apart and may not be moved, said Rob Taggart, Greenwood’s parks and recreation director.
Freedom Springs in Greenwood has been open at 50% capacity to pool pass holders since June 15, but will open to day passes Saturday.
The Parks and Recreation Department, which oversees the pool, has not decided whether to increase its capacity for the rest of the summer, Taggart said. Pool staff is planning to experiment with placement of additional deck chairs to determine how much capacity can be increased while keeping each chair six feet apart, he said.
Greenwood will wait to see whether Gov. Eric Holcomb announces any changes to the Back on Track Indiana Plan before the pool updates its policies, Taggart said.
In Greenwood, reminders to socially distance and wash hands are posted, along with warnings that entering the pool puts patrons at risk for catching the coronavirus. Markers are also placed six feet apart where patrons must form a line, such as at concession stands and water slides.
Freedom Springs is the only pool in the county that has opened so far this summer. Attendance has been “comfortable,” Taggart said. The pool is not too crowded, but enough patrons visit each day for staff to practice enforcing social distancing and other new protocols before crowd volumes increase potentially, he said.
Freedom Springs has stronger precautions in place than the CDC recommends, with extra protocols such as asking health questions at the entrance gate and creating single entry and exit points.
“This has been hard; this certainly has not been easy. We are quite proud of opening when we opened and all the thought we put into it …” Taggart said. “It was a safe return.”
Some of those protocols, such as asking health questions and requiring staff members to wear masks, may loosen next weekend, depending on the governor’s updated reopening plan, Taggart said.
The Franklin Family Aquatic Center and Edinburgh Aquatic Center will open for the first time this season Saturday, also at a reduced capacity. Franklin’s pool will be open all summer at half capacity, with a maximum of 600 patrons, according to Franklin parks’ pool policies. Edinburgh’s pool will operate at 75% capacity this summer, with a maximum of 500 patrons, according to Edinburgh parks’ pool policies.
Franklin’s pool will be open during normal business hours in July, and will transition to the traditional weekend-only schedule after classes resume at Franklin Community Schools Aug. 5, said Chip Orner, director.
Edinburgh’s pool will also be open during normal hours, said Tracy Bier, activities director.
Local parks are taking different approaches to enforcing social distancing.
In Franklin, social distancing will be strongly encouraged, but local pools will not hover around patrons to enforce the guidelines, Orner said.
“Anytime we open anything up or have a festival (later this year) it will be the public’s responsibility to social distance. We won’t have six-feet distance police; people will take their own responsibility,” Orner said.
Greenwood and Edinburgh pool staff members do plan to enforce social distancing, and will ask patrons to follow the six-feet rule in certain situations, Taggart and Bier said.
At Freedom Springs, lifeguards will monitor both safety in the water and on the pool deck, Taggart said.
“All of our deck chairs are set. If they are moved, lifeguards are instructed to tell the patrons to move them back and explain why,” Taggart said.
The goal is to keep all patrons safe, but on days with a high volume of patrons, it will be difficult, Bier said.
“We are going to try to enforce it as much as we can," Bier said. "But hundreds of people will be here, so it will be hard for staff to get around to everyone.”
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Here is a look at the CDC’s Guidelines for Safety at Public Pools
- Encourage all staff, patrons, and swimmers via signage and/or periodic public announcements to wash their hands often and cover their coughs and sneezes.
- Encourage the use of cloth face coverings when not in the pool, especially when physical distancing is not possible. Advise those wearing face coverings to not wear them in the water.
- Educate staff, patrons, and swimmers about when to stay home. For example, if they have symptoms of COVID-19, have tested positive for COVID-19, or were exposed to someone with COVID-19 within the last 14 days
- Stagger or limit the use of communal pool accessories like deck chairs, snorkels and pool toys. These items should be limited in use and sanitized between uses.
- Provide adequate hand sanitizer, soap, paper towels and no-touch trash cans for patrons and staff.
Source: Centers for Disease Control Considerations for Public Pools, Hot Tubs, and Water Playgrounds During COVID-19, which can be found at: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/parks-rec/aquatic-venues.html
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