TIMONIUM-LUTHERVILLE, Md. — Memorial Day Weekend May be here but area pools remained closed due to the coronavirus. As a precautionary measure many community pools are busy making changes to how they operate. They’re taking this to make changes so that they can reopen safely when they’re given the green light. That includes the Dulaney Swim Club in Timonium-Lutherville.
"Our tables are all set at least eight feet apart instead of six," he said. "We took the surface area of our pool and calculated how many people we would have to have to maintain distance and we figure we can get about 70 folks in the pool,” said Brad Love, President is the Dulaney Swim Club.
Technically, the club could reopen now with a maximum capacity of 10. That would include two staff members and 8 guests.
“Right now that just doesn’t make sense from an operation standpoint,” he said.
What make sense is upgrading the facility and making sure it’s ready for guests.
“We’re hoping to be open by June or July. In the meantime we’re actually going to spend about $5,000 redoing our bathroom so that we can have touch-less faucets, touch-less
towels, touch-less soap dispensers as well as putting hand sanitizers around the pool and we also need to put up signage.”
According to the CDC, there is no evidence that suggests the coronavirus can spread to people through pool water. Proper operation and maintenance, including disinfection with chlorine should make the virus inactive.
“We’re ready for when officials tell us we can operate,” said Love. “We just would prefer it to happen before the end of the pool season.”
In a statement to WMAR 2 News Baltimore City sent this statement regarding its public pools:
"Baltimore City Recreation and Parks is working on a multi-phase plan that will provide guidance on our summer activities and amenities. This includes pools, park events and permits, summer camp, recreation programs and sporting activities and events. We understand the vital role that our agency plays in the Baltimore summer experience and want to find a way to maintain quality but by doing so safely. The Mayor has formed a governance committee to review the restoration and resumption of all City services. The committee is reviewing the City's Recreation and Parks summer plan, and will update the community this week."
