The Case for Opening (some) Pools In COVID19 Pandemic

The COVID crisis has decimated water exercise. Can we rethink pool closures? A significant number of my older patients relied on pools for their fitness. During a pandemic, you can stay active or fit only if you have good legs and joints. Walkers, runners, and cyclists have no problem; they play outside in the Spring weather. People with bone/joint problems, fitness swimmers, and young children who normally take swim lessons this time of year are out of luck. Consider the place I swim—the Mary T Meagher Natatorium, named after Mary T, a Louisville native, who won Olympic gold in 1984. The place is an ode to Sparta. The expansive no-frills public facility has tons of space to socially distance. Before I tell you my proposal, let’s set out some givens on May 13. Three months into this crisis literally everyone knows the deal: the coronavirus is not going away. It will be as dangerous next year as this year; Older people are more vulnerable, and they know it;The virus travels via droplets so distance reduces your odds of infection;Other health conditions, such as mental stress, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, immobility and arthritis, do not become less problematic during a pandemic; People differ in their risk tolerance; some people see a 0.5% infection fatality rate as scary as heck, others see a 99.5% chance of survival. Hand washing reduces transmission. Masks might also reduce transmission.Finally, and this is key, the community-level risk for the virus...
Source: Dr John M - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs