Reopening Roundup: New Jersey Sets June 22 as Pool Reopening Date

by Matthew De George - Senior Writer

08 June 2020, 12:41pm

Pools in New Jersey can reopen as of Monday, June 22, Governor Phil Murphy announced Monday.

Murphy tweeted the news Monday afternoon, promising that full guidance will be released Tuesday. The reopening applies to both public and private clubs.

NEW: Municipal and private-club swimming pools can REOPEN on Monday, June 22nd. ?@NJDeptofHealth will release full guidance tomorrow relating to the procedures and protocols that will need to be followed. pic.twitter.com/beVB3PnOZV

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) June 8, 2020

“We can today give everybody that day to look forward to, June 22,” Murphy said at his daily press briefing.

The state has been a contentious battleground for pool reopening. The Garden State was one of the most impacted by the pandemic, but it has been in a multi-week reduction of cases. That has led some to petition the governor to include pool opening in an earlier phase of the state’s recovery plan.

New Jersey has seen 164,000 cases of COVID-19, including 12,214 deaths. It reported 356 new cases Monday, though its rate of transmission is slowing.

Elsewhere, Massachusetts enters Phase 2 of its plan Monday, which permits opening of “outdoor recreational facilities (pools, playgrounds, spray decks, mini golf, go karts, batting cages, climbing walls).”

Monday marks Michigan’s first day with pools open. It applies only to outdoor pools but includes public and private facilities.

The trajectory of pool reopenings has reached a hyperlocal level in many areas. Monday marked announcements of reopening plans on the city level in Miami, Cincinnati (which opened seven public pools and requires reservations); Honolulu; Birmingham, Alabama (outdoor pools only); and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Swimming Through a Pandemic

The postponements and cancellations wrought by COVID-19 haven’t just affected the Olympics and the ranks of elite swimmers. They’ve trickled down to neighborhood clubs and summer youth leagues, affecting thousands of recreational and competitive swimmers alike. Here is some of our coverage of COVID-19’s effect on the American summer swimming calendar.

• California to Reopen Pools in Phase 3 As Soon As June 12
• Santa Clara Pools Set to Reopen; Three California Counties Progressing
• Olympic Swimmers To President Trump: For Safety Sake, Help Get Pools Reopened
• Petition Urging Governor Newsom To Open California Pools By Early June Backed By 5 USA Swimming LSCs
• Connecticut Swimmer Launches Petition to Reopen Pools
• As More States Reopen Pools for Summer, Obstacles Remain
• USA Swimming California LSCs Pen Letter to Governor Requesting Pools Open
• Chattanooga Swim League Joins Cancellation List as COVID-19 Restrictions Elsewhere Ease
• Summer Leagues Cancel in Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee; On Hold in Delaware
• Summer Leagues Cancel in Ohio, Nebraska; California Fights To Open Pools
• Decisions Loom in Several States to Determine Fate of Summer Swimming
• ‘Tremendously Difficult’ Decisions Loom for Summer Swimming Clubs
• Texas Pools Begin to Open, But Some Cities Holding Back
• With ‘Great Pain,’ Coastal Carolina Aquatic Association Cancels Summer Season

Resources for returning to the pool in the COVID-19 era

• COVID-19 Pools Guidance Updated By CDC On “Healthy Environments & Operations”
• Chlorine Not a Guaranteed Answer to Covid-19; Detailed Protocols The Way to Go, Says Expert
• USA Swimming Unveils Road to Competition Roadmap For Summer Return
• Pool Water Unlikely to Spread Coronavirus But Facility Environments Need Careful Handling, Says Expert
• Swim Practice Social Distancing Protocol
• The Worries and Concerns of Lap Swimming When Pools Open
• Proper Ways for Teams and Athletes to Resume Training (USA Swimming)
• Is the Water Safe From Coronavirus? Considerations for Return to the Pool
• Pools and Swimming: Getting Back in the Water Safely
• Coronavirus And Swimmers: CDC Issues Guidance On Water Transmission & COVID-19

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Anonymous

3 years ago

It will only be for outdoor pools in NJ. The governess not clear on Monday!

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Lisa

3 years ago

Why can’t indoor pools start to open with the same precautions as outdoor pools?

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Craig Lord

3 years ago

Reply to  Lisa

Lisa, indoor pools have issues that don’t pertain to outdoor pools. Contained space is one issue (depends on size of facility. There are also things like controlled air flow/ air filtration systems. In some old pools, airflow may produce vertical flows, meaning that micro-particles can be transported further and faster from person to person. Newer systems that tend to have downward airflows are not as problematic, some experts have suggested. Indoor facilities also often have much tighter spaces for catering, spectators and so forth.

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