Hillside Pool In Bismarck Closes Due To COVID-19!

"Swimming lessons continue at the facility", according to Parks and Recreation Executive Director Randy Bina and Facilities Manager Mike Wald.

You can expect general swimming and lessons to continue at Wachter Aquatic Complex and also at the Elks Aquatic Center.  Chlorine in the pool water kills germs.  The staff at parks facilities regularly cleans and disinfects other areas according to the article.

So just how safe are pools during the pandemic?  I wanted to do some fact checking on the claim that chlorine kills the virus and other germs.  According to an article on health.com catching the coronavirus outdoors swimming is a very low risk activity.  That's the good news.  Plus, there's no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread through water, pools, spas, hot tubs, or water play areas.  This is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Plus, if you're swimming in a water body with chlorine the risk is even lower.  According to the article in Health, “The coronavirus doesn’t survive in chlorinated water," said infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Maryland.

Now this doesn't mean you're completely safe when swimming at an outdoor pool facilitie.  COVID-19 is spread through droplets in the air or on surfaces.  Anywhere you're interacting with an infected person, you have the chance of catching the coronavirus.