USA-S Issues Guidelines for Reopening Swimming Facilities

Surely I can't be the only one who does not always exhale under water. Backstroke! Aside from turns ALL backstroke exhalation takes place above the surface!

It is my understanding that Covid19 is probably not airborne, but rather droplet borne. That is the reason for the 6 foot separation. Is there a theoretic chance of infection sharing a lane with someone, I don't know.

Typical freestyle swimmer, completely overlooks the backstrokers! 400 IM is one of my favorite events (after breaststroke and 200 fly), so I always have backstroke in the mix somewhere in my workout! Meanwhile, the scenario you previously outlined would concern me. It makes me feel a little safer knowing I swim at a private community pool where I am often the only swimmer in the pool at any given time. I just have to watch out for those noodlers by adjusting my workout time! :afraid:

Hereâ€s an article that seems to be asking a question that pertains to this discussion. www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../ “Thereâ€s a concern that even if someone is swimming in their own lane, when the person is right next to them is breathing heavily, they could be exposed. Itâ€s hard to maintain that kind of social distancing in a public pool.” and: Lap swimmers also would have trouble maintaining an appropriate physical distance if more than one stops at the end of a lane to rest or to wait for another swimmer to finish, Lavin acknowledged. and finally: If public pools are to open for lap swimming, then they may have to follow USA Swimmingâ€s I am not opposed to these questions or discussions, and lord knows that when I'm solo swimming in the gym, the casual lap swimmers are constantly lapped by the more intense swimmers. But as this pertains to what USA Swimming is advising, I think this article is primarily about general use public pools, not structured practices. Please don't take this as argumentative, not trying to be that way, just think we're looking at apples and oranges. Side but related note, my wife's great aunt passed away from COVID yesterday. She was not closer to her or anything, not looking for sympathy.....just pointing out that more and more of us are going to be connected to not just those who have had it, but some who die from it. Here's an article on KY Swimming petitioning for reconsideration. swimswam.com/.../

It is my understanding that Covid19 is probably not airborne, but rather droplet borne. That is the reason for the 6 foot separation. Is there a theoretic chance of infection sharing a lane with someone, I don't know. Sure. I've read droplet and aerosol borne. In any case, the Harvard COVID basics page indicates that emitted aerosols may linger in the air for up to 3 hours. That's the part that I'm questioning. In an IM set or stroke choice set, swimmer A who doesn't yet know they are sick with COVID swims backstroke and blows plumes of COVID laced aerosols into the air which linger for a variable amount of time depending upon the air movement at this given pool. Swimmer B and C who are in the adjacent lanes unknowingly inhale these aerosols as they swim whatever stroke they might be swimming. The consensus seems to be that it is nothing to worry about, pools are safe. But can anybody point me to some science that indicates how my above outlined scenario isn't a possibility?

Backstroke! Aside from turns ALL backstroke exhalation takes place above the surface! Typical freestyle swimmer, completely overlooks the backstrokers!

Chlorine is evidently very good at inactivating the virus. The CDC says it is not spread by pools or hot tubs. Nothing is certain in this time, but being in the pool is very likely much safer than the grocery store.

According to the CDC, chlorine kills the virus. But droplets from an infected individual, who may be asymptomatic, can remain suspended in the air for hours. The bigger question is why we are reopening the country without a plan for widespread testing, contact tracing, and isolation of positives. Presently only 5% of the population has been infected. Herd immunity will not occur until 70% have been. This is not the flu.

My interpretation? Because we have placed the health of the economy before the health of the people. 30 million unemployed before people are talking of opening things up. Poverty is inexorably linked to the health of its citizens. I would think our leaders wouldn't close at all if they were simply worried just about the economy. Not everybody is sitting on a multiple million dollar 401k that say, an interventional cardiologist might have. Many can ride this out...others cannot. In last two weeks, I've seen a patient stay at home for 5 days with her chest pain (likely killing off extra myocardium during the covid-extended heart attack). Later, as I resuscitated a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, the 20 something gentleman's phone rang with a call from "Dad" and a screensaver with a beautiful wife and three small children. Hopelessness kills as does every disease that people are now too afraid to come to the ER to address. (Our ER census is half of what it normally is and that scenario is played out across most of the country--irony of ironies--we are laying off ER doctors during a pandemic). The ultimate promise of safety many seem to wish for (and even demand) is never gonna happen.

As I mentioned earlier, an infected backstroker inhaling and exhaling with water in and around their mouth has to be a perfect human disbursement apparatus for covid. This will hold true whether itâ€s a public lap swim scenario or a closed doors club swim team practice. Even with one swimmer per lane, what is to keep the virus within the confines of the infected swimmers lane perimeter? I do not have a good answer for the backstroke situation. The safe, but reasonable approach (reasonable being COMPLETE speculation on my end, here) would be.....no backstroke. Certainly not what I'd like, as both of my daughters' are very strong backstrokers (one has WInter Jr cuts in back and fly, the other has made sectionals in back and the 1650/1500 the past couple of years). I'd be interested to know more about how long it survives in the area above the pool, how long it takes to come out of droplet suspension, etc. But I also would be pretty dang insulted if resources were devoted to finding out that information given that only about 0.1% of the population would be affected by this, and there are FAR more more impactful data that should be investigated, first.