Anyone concerned about risks to our family?

Former Member
Former Member
No matter what the CDC says about chlorine killing the virus, my family is very concerned about my return to the pool, due to those who spit, pee, sweat in the pool, and particularly the heavy breathing above the water by other swimmers. Not to mention that they don't 100% believe that chlorine kills the virus, since we are inundated with contradictory recommendations and cautions. Is anyone staying away from pools until it really is "safe" -- the cases don't rise significantly? I worry about being the carrier to my family, esp. my grandson, who I watch and adore. I admit, I'm concerned about safety above the water, no matter what precautions the pools say they are taking. I swam indoors and watched guards look the other way when people don't shower off before getting in, or spit in the pool, and I've seen worse that I won't share here.
  • It's ultimately a question you will have to answer for yourself. None of us know you or your family, or the issues you may have to deal with if you go against their wishes. Perhaps there's a compromise? Is there a clean and safe lake you can swim in instead? I don't know what the water temperature is up there, but if it's feasible, it may be a safer option.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Chlorinated water will kill the virus. But the virus can still be transmitted from other swimmers above the water, either on deck or when you are at the wall between repeats. Universal masking (which is not practical in the water) and social distancing reduce the spread. How much risk you are willing to take is an individual decision. But your individual decisions can impact the health of others, including (but not limited to) family members. I have been swimming in an outdoor 12.5 yard pool within our condo complex. I swim early in the morning and have the pool to myself.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Risk is age related. This is largely an older persons disease.The early results of 138 Italian deaths with ages had zero deaths of people under 40 and only 3 deaths of people under 60. I understand that more recent tallies have not been that dramatic and there have been some fatalities from every age group. That said, unless your grandson has some serious underlying health issues, it unlikely that you would be any threat to him. I imagine much less risk to him than you would be during a heavy flu season.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Older individuals, particularly those with underlying medical conditions, have a higher risk of death with Covid-19, but deaths have been reported in all age groups. And children have developed so-called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, which can be life-threatening.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Given the rate at which information seems to be developing with this virus, I wouldn't be making any assumptions about a particular age group being "safe". For instance, I read the following last week. That's a quite different description of the virus compared to just two months ago. elemental.medium.com/coronavirus-may-be-a-blood-vessel-disease-which-explains-everything-2c4032481ab2
  • There are so many things to consider, everyone on here is going to have a different set of factors to consider. And one of those is risk tolerance. As someone mentioned above, driving in a car is a risk (FWIW, fatalities from accidents are typically in the 30-35,000 range per year for all age groups, so that would mean somewhere around 15,000 this year, doubtful 2/3 are from 24 and under). What risk is one willing to take with oneself for what activitiy? That is a personal decision. I'm 46, and my state has been minimally impacted. So I would consider myself low risk. But unfortunately, I live in an area where a large portion of the population thinks it is somewhere between the flu and a hoax (even MD's, one of whom wrote our school superintendent to tell him that the flu is more deadly for school age kids, among other statistically invalid claims). So I'm in an area where people don't respect the space of others. However, where I will be swimming is also in a county that has had only 48 cases, in a population of 75,000. My kids are 10, 15, and 15. My parents and in-laws live in another state, so I do not interface with high risk individuals, though my whole family is asthmatic. I actually trust the pools to be pretty capable of killing it, and quickly. I know people pee int he pools, and do all kinds of other crap. But the requirements fro the pools are set up to account for that. I'm inclined to think that as long as you can smell the chlorine, you are probably in an environment that is inhospitable to respiratory viruses. That said, my wife's great aunt in NJ died from it. I have two cousins around 40 who were incredibly sick from it, one thought he was going to die. But I also have a friend whose wife (also early 40's) was exposed (in medical field) and contracted it, but has been almost symptom free. So I know that it can be very, very serious. Honestly, in your case, I'm going to guess you are probably 15-20 years older than me. I would think that you would be much more prone to serious affects from the disease than your grandson, so I'd actually place the concern more from contracting it from him, rahter than giving it to him. But again, you will have to make this decision yourself. All of the inputs you have to make will be unique to you. And then only you can determine what your risk tolerance will be.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    I understand and appreciate the info on who is at risk. But I don't know if I feel okay with possibly carrying (or getting) COVID to anyone I am in contact with, especially family. I live in an adult community and they are over the top paranoid. Nothing has opened here - no clubhouse or pool yet. Our State was very hard hit. How long did we think the antibody test would show we were immune to getting the virus again? Now that's changed. I had thought about getting the test, but what's the point.
  • If the pool appears crowded, or someone nearby isnâ€Tmt exhibiting hygienic behavior Joe, just call it a day.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    From today's NYT, reporting on remarks made by Dr. Fauci at a biotechnology conference: But much is still unknown about the disease and how it attacks the body, research that Dr. Fauci described as “a work in progress.” Another looming question, he said, was whether survivors who were seriously ill would fully recover. Dr. Fauci said that he had spent much of his career studying H.I.V., and that the disease it caused was “really simple compared to whatâ€Tms going on with Covid-19.” The differences, he said, included Covidâ€Tms broad range of severity: no symptoms at all to critical illness and death, with lung damage, intense immune responses and clotting disorders that have caused strokes even in young people, as well as a separate inflammatory syndrome causing severe illness in some children.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    So I looked at the data. *** data.cdc.gov/.../data *** The table is somewhat confusing and has redundancies in it. If I got it correctly (and I might not have, please correct me, if appropriate). *** This is provisional as of 5/30 *** 88,243 total US deaths. *** 29214 of these over one quarter (27.4 %) were 85 years old or older. *** 23612 were between 75 and 84. *** 18360 were 65-74. *** Note 80.7% of the deaths were 65 years old or older. *** 10560 were 55-64. *** 6345 were 25-54 *** Note 99.8% of the deaths were 25 and older. *** 126 were people under 24 *** Note: 0.14% of covids deaths were people 24 years old or younger. *** These are the deaths. *** There are, as Gull points out, a variety of other untoward results. *** How many people under 24 have died in US auto accidents so far this year? Is it over 10.000? Or under 10,000? I don't actually know, but it's close. *** And remember, with car accidents, there are also many, many people who are life-long disabled for every death, "with a broad range of severity." *** I would worry more about your grandchild if you took them with you when you drive to the pool than from covid.