Can you contract coronavirus in a swimming pool?

The heat has many valley residents looking to cool off, but how risky is it to use a swimming pool during the pandemic? 

Experts say it’s not the pool water you need to be worried about, it’s the high touch surfaces like pool railings and pool chairs.  

According to the CDC: “Evidence suggests that COVID-19 cannot be spread to humans through most recreational water [...] disinfection of the water (with chlorine or bromine) should inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.” 

So although it’s unlikely the virus would travel through the pool water, those high touch surfaces or shared areas should be wiped down frequently. 

Many private and residential pools have reopened with specific guidelines in place such as limiting the number of people, requiring reservations and cleaning in between groups. 

“That’s one of the largest things when we’re able to bring back our part time staff is to train them in all these new cleaning procedures,” said David Keyes, manager at the Palm Desert Aquatic Center. 

Keyes says although they’re not ready to open their doors yet, they’re preparing a plan to reopen safely. 

“We’d have it set up where staff would be cleaning all the touch points right when a person uses the restroom...when that person leaves, staff would go in there,” he said.  

Keyes says when case numbers go down and they’re given the green light from the county, they’ll be ready to welcome guests back with those new protocols recommended by the CDC in place.