{"id":436284,"date":"2020-06-18T14:13:38","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T21:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=436284"},"modified":"2020-06-25T09:57:38","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T16:57:38","slug":"a-state-by-state-glance-at-pool-reopenings-in-the-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/a-state-by-state-glance-at-pool-reopenings-in-the-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"A State-by-State Glance at Pool Reopenings in the COVID-19 Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

A State-By-State Overview of U.S. Pool Reopening During COVID-19<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been more than three months since the normal world came to a screeching halt due to the COVID-19 crisis. In that time, many states have absorbed the first wave of the coronavirus and stabilized their number of cases. With that comes the chance to return to business, and with summer approaching, that means opening pools for their variety of uses \u2013 for competitive and recreational swimmers, for exercise and for lessons.<\/p>\n

At Swimming World<\/em>, we\u2019ve collected an overview of the state of swimming in the States at the moment.<\/p>\n

A couple of notes: Almost all states have opened their aquatic facilities to some extent. Many are still operating at diminished capacities, which is in keeping with USA Swimming guidance. Common conditions for opening include reduced or no lockering\/shower facilities, enhanced sanitizing, limits on group size to less than 10 to 20, spacing of potential congregation spots like furniture and prohibitions on sharing equipment. Many states also require call-ahead reservations.<\/p>\n

The other question is whether states differentiate between indoor or outdoor facilities. Most openings concern public outdoor pools first for their lower risk profile and greater capacity, but not all states have clear delineations in their policies.<\/p>\n

For a larger overview of the state of reopening, media outlets like the New York Times<\/a>, CNN<\/a> and NPR<\/a> have collected state-by-state picture accounts of reopening. (Information will be updated as the conditions change.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Alabama<\/strong> opened May 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alaska<\/strong> opened at 50 percent capacity as part of Phase 2 as of May 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arizona<\/strong> opened May 13<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arkansas<\/strong> opened June 1.<\/p>\n

California<\/strong> pools can open in Phase 3 as of June 12<\/a>. Opening remains subject to local oversight on a county-by-county basis.<\/p>\n

Colorado<\/strong> opened June 5<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Connecticut<\/strong> pools opened June 17<\/a> (following a previous June 10 opening for lifeguard training only).<\/p>\n

Delaware<\/strong> opened May 22.<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s<\/strong> government has generally abdicated control of reopening, with many industries able to reopen in some form as of May 4. That\u2019s allowed local health authorities to move forward with openings on a county-by-county basis.<\/p>\n

Georgia<\/strong> opened May 13, with deference to local rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hawaii<\/strong> has opened its pools on a local (i.e. by island) basis<\/a>. Outdoor pools in Kauai opened May 22, Honolulu\u2019s were cleared to open May 28 and Maui followed June 1.<\/p>\n

Idaho<\/strong> opened May 30 as part of Stage 3<\/a> (pools had originally been listed in Stage 4).<\/p>\n

Illinois<\/strong> opened \u201cstate-licensed facilities\u201d as of June 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Indiana<\/strong> opened May 22 as state moved into its third stage of reopening.<\/p>\n

Iowa<\/strong> opened June 12.<\/p>\n

Kansas\u2019s<\/strong> opening of pools falls under Phase 3 of its Ad Astra plan<\/a>. Reopening is regional\/county-based, and counties began entering Phase 3 on June 8.<\/p>\n

Kentucky<\/strong> public pools will be able to reopen June 29<\/a>. Other pools in the state have been able to open earlier.<\/p>\n

Louisiana<\/strong> opened as part of the state\u2019s move into Phase 2 on June 5<\/a>. It will apply even as the entry into Phase 3 is delayed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Maine<\/strong> allowed pools to reopen in Stage 2 (with gyms and fitness facilities<\/a>) in most counties on June 12. By June 17, all counties could open pools.<\/p>\n

Maryland<\/strong> pools opened May 29 at 25 percent capacity. It was increased to 50 percent on June 12<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Massachusetts<\/strong> opened as part of Phase 2 of its recovery plan June 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michigan<\/strong> opened pools as of June 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Minnesota<\/strong> opened June 10.<\/p>\n

Mississippi<\/strong> opened May 15.<\/p>\n

Missouri<\/strong> allowed all businesses, including pools, to open as of May 1 provided they adhered to social distancing restrictions. The state is full reopened as of June 16 in Phase 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Montana<\/strong> opened in Phase 2 on June 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nebraska<\/strong> opened June 1, with some counties opening at a later date.<\/p>\n

Nevada<\/strong> opened May 29 as the state entered Phase 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New Hampshire<\/strong> opened June 15<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New Jersey<\/strong> opened on outdoor basis on June 22 by order of Gov. Phil Murphy.<\/a><\/p>\n

New Mexico<\/strong> opened pools specifically \u201cat gyms\u201d as of June 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New York<\/strong> is still TBD and subject to local guidance<\/a> depending on progression of the disease in the state. Pools appear to be under \u201crecreation,\u201d which wouldn\u2019t ordinarily open until Phase 4 of the state\u2019s plan, which no region has yet reached.<\/p>\n

North Carolina<\/strong> opened May 22 under interim guidance.<\/a> The half-capacity applies even as Phase 2 guidelines<\/a> are extended into July.<\/p>\n

North Dakota<\/strong> has grouped pools in its \u201cmoderate risk\u201d phase<\/a>, which most of the state advanced to in May. Opening of public pools has largely been left over to local jurisdiction within that framework.<\/p>\n

Ohio<\/strong> opened on May 26<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma<\/strong> opened May 1 with special guidance for pools<\/a>. Progressing into Phase 3 has lifted many restrictions on capacity, etc.<\/p>\n

Oregon<\/strong> pools began opening June 5 as the state entered Phase 2, which occurred on a county-by-county basis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania<\/strong> pools can open at limited capacity when counties reach the yellow phase, which all of the state\u2019s counties attained by June 5.<\/p>\n

Rhode Island<\/strong> opened June 1 as part of Phase 2<\/a> of the state\u2019s recovery plan with no more than 15 people inside a facility.<\/p>\n

South Carolina<\/strong> opened May 18<\/a>.<\/p>\n

South<\/strong> Dakota<\/strong> had no stay-at-home order in place, giving to local areas latitude to open as soon as May 1.<\/p>\n

Tennessee\u2019s<\/strong> convoluted reopening allowed activities based on social distancing\/group size as of May 22. It has specific swimming pool regulations<\/a> without a clear picture of where in the larger guidance they actually fit.<\/p>\n

Texas<\/strong> opened at 25 percent capacity May 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Utah<\/strong> opened May 16 as the state entered the low-risk designation, though some more densely populated counties had to wait longer to open<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vermont<\/strong> opened by state order on May 19<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Virginia<\/strong> opened pools as part of Phase 2 on June 5. Excepted from that were Northern Virginia counties and Richmond, which moved to reopen June 12<\/a>. Swimming pools can open for recreation<\/a> July 1 in Phase 3 in Northern Virginia.<\/p>\n

Washington<\/strong> opened at 25 percent capacity in \u201cmodified Phase 1\u201d by immediate effect June 10<\/a>. Ordinance has previously required attaining Stage 3 for the pools to open.<\/p>\n

West Virginia<\/strong> opened May 30.<\/p>\n

Wisconsin<\/strong> has left pool opening up to local guidance.<\/p>\n

Wyoming<\/strong> opened under orders that have since been modified June 15<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Swimming Through a Pandemic<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The postponements and cancellations wrought by COVID-19 haven\u2019t just affected the Olympics and the ranks of elite swimmers. They\u2019ve 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\u2019s effect on the American summer swimming calendar.<\/em><\/p>\n

Resources for returning to the pool in the COVID-19 era<\/strong><\/h4>\n