How to swim safely during the COVID-19 pandemic
Alvin Gonzales
Staff Writer
On February 24, AHS Athletic Director Brian Hashimoto sent out a loopmail to the school regarding the official restart of the 2020-2021 sports seasons. In this loopmail, Hashimoto released the official tryout date for the season one sports would be March 1 for Cross-Country, Swimming, Boys Tennis, and Girls Golf, along with a tentative start for Football. Ensuring that all athletes stay safe during this pandemic throughout the entirety of their sports season is absolutely essential, which means that all athletes should be making sure that they are wearing facemasks.
Wearing facemasks underwater is quite difficult, but even swimmers are required to be wearing them. According to CDC guidelines, swimmers still must follow the six-feet-apart rule and must wear cloth masks when out of the water. In addition to these guidelines, the CDC requires that all sports equipment and surfaces that are to be used by the athletes should be disinfected; sports equipment that are hard to disinfect should not be shared with anyone. To reassure those of you concerned about COVID-19 spreading through the pool water, according to the CDC, there still is no proven evidence that the virus can spread to swimmers while in recreational water. However, it is good to note that the chlorine in pools will effectively disinfect the pool and rid it of most of its germs within minutes.
As always, everyone should be making sure they are getting into the habit of staying safe during the pandemic and following good habits to prevent the further spread of the virus. Wear facemasks, wash your hands, and safely swim six feet apart.
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