Will public swimming pools be a thing of the past?

[CTyankee]

My alma mater has a magnificent Olympic size pool and I have had a membership in the past. Will such a thing survive this pandemic?

I remember as a small child when all the public pools (outdoors) were closed during the polio epidemic before the vaccine was found. I remember the fear in my mother's face and voice.

I am including gyms as well. Planet Fitness will probably be out of business soon...

[marybourg]

1. Swimming pools survived polio.

Why should they not survive cov19?

[CTyankee]

5. Oh, good. If I live through this and a vaccine is found, I can go back to the pool and my husband

can go back to the gym.

I guess I could just walk around the block but that's boring...need a walking buddy...

[marybourg]

9. There will be a tomorrow. For most of us.

[2naSalit]

2. We have lots of hot springs

around here, I wonder if that will end too.

[maxsolomon]

8. geothermal vents aren't going to end.

unless someone chucks a stick of dynamite in there.

[2naSalit]

10. I mean private, developed places

where you can pay to get in and they have a cement pond style pool for soaking.

[maxsolomon]

16. oh, like Burgdorf in ID?

probably.

my wife thinks that Covid will kill half the Earth's population. But the hot springs-going half will survive!

[2naSalit]

17. Yup...

and Lava HS, Chico HS, Bozeman, but Bozeman's are gross on a good day. Lava and Chico are my favorites, nice facilities. I know that Lava HS are run by the state, though.

[calguy]

3. Everything will come back

This will not last forever. It's not going to go away until trump goes away. He goes away in January and then we can rebuild our country. It's always darkest before the dawn.

[2naSalit]

11. Except...

the virus could be around in 2025 if we don't get a grip on it soon.

[calguy]

27. It might

But I doubt it. With trump in charge it's going to get worse before it gets better. Once he's gone we can make progress. It looks bleak right now I'll agree, but the human race has been thru worse and we've always survived. I have faith.

[bearsfootball516]

29. There are already vaccine trials underway that are pretty encouraging.

A realistic timeline is that the vaccine emerges from its final tests successful in December/January, it takes a month or two to mass produce it, and then mass vaccinations start February/March 2021, which allows for life to pretty much return to normal by summer.

[2naSalit]

31. That sounds pretty optomistic...

And question whether that is even realistic, honestly. Just because a vaccine works in trials doesn't mean it will be beneficial to everyone. Aside from that, mutations are getting scary and they may not respond to the one vaccine that makes it through the trial phase. Not to mention that, so far, antibodies aren't very long lived with this virus which means they are likely to be short lived in the vaccine as well. How are we supposed to vaccinate everyone every three to six months?

It really not simple at all.

[Shermann]

14. Yeah but Trump will return in 27 years like Pennywise the Clown nt

[bearsfootball516]

4. Once there is a vaccine, things will largely return to normal.

[2naSalit]

12. Getting everyone vaccinated is going to be a heavy lift...

That in itself could take years.

[bearsfootball516]

20. True, I just hope not.

We have the capability of mass producing the vaccine. If there was some way to make vaccination for it mandatory, we could realistically wipe it out within a few months.

[2naSalit]

25. Well...

See you can't mass produce vaccine in the amounts required for 7+ billions humans and distribute it as fast as one might imagine. And then, as you mentioned, the issue of consent. The world just doesn't function in the ideal. And even if we had all the ideal conditions, it would still be a while longer than hoped for. I think we are in a depopulating event, enough will die to make a significant difference in how the survivors live, think and interact. And probably for the best with regard to the other species that live here too.

[BusyBeingBest]

6. They're a thing of MY past.

I stopped going into those human soup bowls by my 20's--just because there's chlorine to kill the germs doesn't mean they aren't still gross.

[CTyankee]

21. I did the shower thing and went in the pool. Then got out, wrapped my bottom in a towel and left.

No shower, no dressing room.

then, for some reason I stopped. I dunno what happened. Maybe I just got out of the habit in the winter when the towel thing wasn't gonna cut it!

I miss the pool a lot. It is the best exercise for older folks like me. And it feels wonderful...

[maxsolomon]

7. Eventually we'll all go swimming again.

We'll go to concerts again.

We just don't know when.

[whistler162]

13. 3 of the city pools are opening

requires reservations and is limited access.

[Mr. Ected]

15. Maybe. Maybe not. Until everyone is vaccinated, will we ever truly shed this?

Buffet style restaurants won't ever appeal to me again (they didn't before either). Salad bars, meh.

Cruise ships? LOL!

I don't want to lose hope, but Trump and his minions let the evil genie out of the bottle, and God knows how we can get it back inside.

[Blue_true]

18. People have short memories.

If no other scary pandemic happen real soon, all public spots will be visited again and people will be stuffing their faces at self-serve buffets.

[kairos12]

19. Along with movie theaters.

[genxlib]

22. Modern commercial pools

Have some pretty advanced germ killing. It might be one of the safer public activities around.

Gyms are tougher but they will come back to. Some brands might fail but the concept will stick around.

[ooky]

34. I would be most concerned about the social distancing at the commercial pools.

I've read that COVID19 dies in 1 ppm chlorine. Normally 3-4 ppm is recommended.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

23. That's why I never learned to swim.

Mom wouldn't take me to a public pool because she was afraid of other peoples' cooties.
I told her "Mom, that's what chlorine is for."

She was an intelligent woman, but she had her biases.

[Kingofalldems]

24. And salad bars and buffets.

[tavernier]

26. I live in Key Largo.

Our city park has an Olympic size pool, a recreational pool, and a waist deep kiddy pool with a pirate ship. All three have been open since the virus started even though other beaches and stores and restaurants have been closed on and off for months. The rationale was that pool water with the chlorine content is a safe place to exercise as long as the swimmers stay in their lanes or six feet apart in the recreational pool. Life guards were present and rules were followed. As far as I know, none of the cases in our town came from the park pools. But now that they opened the highway and all of Miami is pouring in (we were a closed county for months), I wouldn’t go anywhere near those pools.

[genxlib]

28. I built that facility

Or more accurately, I designed it.

Jacobs Aquatic Center.

One of my favorite.

Note my comment above in post 22. I was actually thinking of that facility.

[Ms. Toad]

30. My mother is already back in her pool

It isn't "public," but it is a community pool (retirement community). She is able to swim 2-3x a week. (They have to sign up for time slots, and only 3 people can swim simultaneously, but she gets to swim!)

[CTyankee]

32. Sounds good, but the thought of a "retirement community" with this pandemic makes me worry.

Your mom's place sounds OK, altho you must have been worried for her...

[Demovictory9]

33. pools in my complex opened again. limited number at a time. must wear masks when out of the pool

rules broken of course