When will swimming pools open?
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) The official start of summer is just around the corner, but will swimming pools open this season with the shelter-in-place order in effect?
KION is reaching out to local officials and health departments to find out when swimming pools will open.
The Central Coast is currently operating under stage 2 in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, and expanded stage 2 in San Benito, so swimming pools are not permitted to open just yet.
Some locals KION spoke with want the pools open as long as people follow health and safety guidelines. But others, said it’s still too early.
County leaders are looking to the state for direction on when exactly they can open up swimming pools, but they anticipate the reopening to happen sometime in stage 3 or 4.
In the age of the coronavirus pandemic, pools across the Central Coast remain covered up. Empty bleachers and locked gates at the Hartnell College Pool in Salinas paint a picture of the situation–one that would look much different on a normal day as temperature hit 80 degrees Wednesday in Salinas.
This is the norm for much of the Central Coast.
“We’ll see how this virus goes in the next month or so and if it is under some point where they allow us to open, we’ll for the health officer give us some really good directions,” Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter said.
The CDC says that there is no evidence that COVID-19 can spread to people through the water used in pools, water playgrounds or hot tubs. But they are not risk free.
"People from different households could gather and they wouldn't be able to swim with masks on and there's high touch areas on the side of the pools, the slides,“ Monterey Count Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said.
Some counties are also concerned about the potential for crowding if pools were to open up. Under the shelter-in-place order, gatherings of more than 10 people are not permitted.
The CDC says aquatic venues can take steps to encourage proper hygiene to guests and workers, along with cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces, like handrails and lounge chairs. The agency also recommends adding lane lines to encourage social distancing of 6 feet.
How many people will be allowed and what limitations the state will issue are still unknown.
The CDC says proper disinfection of pools, hot tubs and water playgrounds should kill the virus.
