*There are new strains of the coronavirus appearing in 2021, with the old variant still running rampant. This has led to the resurfacing of old questions, as their old answers need to be re-evaluated. As spring approaches, the question regarding whether it’s safe to swim in hot tubs and swimming pools has also resurfaced. This is usually the time of the year when thousands of homes put in new hot tubs, home spas and pools in their garden every year, but will it be safe to do so in 2021?
Public Pools, Tubs and Lakes Remain Unsafe
Be it a swimming pool, or a small and popular lake, every water body with public access poses multiple threats to public health. This includes, but is not just limited to, the chance of getting infected by the coronavirus. Taking note of the following points should help us get a better understanding of why and how public waterbodies are a health hazard:
- Crowded swimming pools bring multiple people in close contact with each other, significantly increasing everyone’s chances of both infecting or getting infected by the coronavirus
- Hot tubs with even a small public gathering around it increase the chances of an infection, given that tubs are usually too small to maintain social distancing measures
- There is no way for us to be 100% sure that a public pool is being cleaned as regularly as it should be
- Setting aside the coronavirus, uncleaned pool and hot tub water can play host to a whole range of other germs such as E. coli, cryptosporidium and the norovirus to name just a few
Private Pools or Hot Tubs at Home Remain the Best Option
All of the problems cited above can be easily avoided in home pools and hot tubs, since their owners can easily control both the access and quality of the water in them. Hydropool’s self-cleaning pools and hot tubs offer the best solution, as they clean out the water automatically every 15 minutes. The auto-cleaning hot tubs can be bought in Ireland from OasisLeisure.com.
The Answer Remains Unchanged
As has been made clear time and again by the WHO, CDC and the UK government itself, there is no proof that the coronavirus can spread from person to person while swimming in a body of water. However, the risks of infection are no less potent either, if social distancing measures are not maintained. What this means is that if someone who is infected with the strain, sneezes or coughs in close proximity to someone else in the tub, they are just as likely to get infected as they would be on land. Therefore, properly maintained, filtered and cleaned swimming pools and hot tubs in a private property should be relatively safe, as long as the people swimming in it are not covid-positive already.
With the use of bromine and chlorine disinfectants, any swimming pool or tub can be made safe for people to swim in. Nevertheless, there is always a greater chance of people getting infected by the coronavirus in a public pool, simply because social distancing is difficult to maintain inside a small body of water.
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