In Spain, as lock-down continues, public and community swimming pools remain closed. If you’re lucky enough to have a prívate swimming pool at your property, you may still be reluctant to enjoy a cooling swim, because of the risk of catching Covid-19. However, it’s safe to swim, as can be seen from this report, recently published by the World Health Organisation (WHO). You just need to be extra careful about hygiene and cleanliness. Here’s the science bit:
As enveloped viruses are surrounded by a lipid host cell membrane, which is not robust, the COVID-19 virus is likely to be more sensitive to chlorine and other oxidant disinfection processes than many other viruses, such as the Coxsackievirus, which has a protein coat. For effective centralised disinfection, there should be a residual concentration of free chlorine of ≥ 0.5 mg/l after at least 30 minutes of contact time at pH < 8.0. A chlorine residual should be maintained throughout the distribution system.
In plain language, if swimming pools are being treated in accordance with current recommendations and best practices, that is sufficient to deactivate Covid-19. As swimming is excellent exercise, and any exercise is also good for mental health, you can happily swim as much as you want to with the blessing of the World Health Organisation!
Maintaining high standards of personal hygiene is vital to staying safe and well, and you should always shower before and after swimming. Wash swimsuits and towels each time you use them, and make sure everyone uses their own towels to maintain safe practice. This is especially important for anyone who may have a pre-existing medical condition or a compromised immune system.
Everything you need to keep your swimming pool safe and healthy for your family can be found at the Ecopools Shop by Construma in Javea. Their experienced, friendly team can advise you on the best cleaning products and chemicals for your pool, and how to use them. They are waiting for your call.
Contact details:
Address:
Avda. de la Fontana, 2. Local 1
03730 Xàbia (Alacant)
Telephone: 966 46 19 74