What do you all think about public pools? Montgomery County ones opened this week for two-hour reservations. Has anyone been?

My kids are competitive swimmers and have been back at practice for several weeks now. Also at our outdoor neighborhood pool even though no swim season this summer. I trust the restrictions.

We don’t have a neighborhood pool. Or a membership. Or HOA pool. Super leery of the few places available to us. We’ll probably try the Bay midweek or do Shenandoah.

We also go every day. So happy. My kids are 10 and younger. We tend to go in the evening after I'm finished with work, so it tends to be fairly empty.

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Our pool opened a week ago, and on day 6, a lifeguard (who worked days 4 and 5) tested positive. We're staying home.

I didn’t get near any lifeguards when I was at our pool yesterday. I checked in and stood more than 6 ft to do that. After that they were up in the stands or walking around with plenty of room and a mask.

Lifeguards are most often teens who are doing a terrible job at social distancing from their friends. Doubtful that lifeguard got it from working.

Our pool is handling it great. I feel super safe and kids soooo happy to be doing something that feels normal.

We have been every day since it opened a couple of weeks back. Capacity is restricted and you need to book 90 a minute slot but it has been great fun.

I do worry about people returning from vacation in the Outer Banks and Florida, though.

Nope. Our pool opened a week ago, and on day 6, a lifeguard (who worked days 4 and 5) tested positive. We're staying home.

Our pool started with a reservation system and have kept it even though we are in phase 3. I love it- we sign up for 2 hour slots 3x a week, you have your own section of the pool and table ready for you. They blow the whistle at the end of the block and everyone puts their masks on and leaves- changing rooms and showers and closed. There are 30 minutes in between groups and the lifeguards wipe down tables and chairs. I think it's great!

We have been 3 times and it's been great because our pool is handling it well. They have a few lap lanes with the rest of the pool open, and have severely limited capacity. Each family is allowed to use one deck chair, and they are spaced 10 feet apart. Masks are required on the pool deck which makes conversation across the chairs difficult. A mostly open pool is actually better than having a bunch of lanes I think, because families can basically stake out a corner of the pool as theirs and stay far away from others. People passing by each other while bouncing up and down in lanes seems more dangerous. My kids are little so I have to be in the water with them and supervise them very closely anyway. There are no toys allowed in the pool so they are basically hanging on me the entire time. Parents of older kids who want to check out and read their phones while their kids swim should probably not let them use the pool because those are often the same kids who get too close to others and the parent says nothing because they are oblivious.

Today there was a group of adults who were pushing the limits. They were standing in a circle in the pool, 6 or so feet apart, having an extended conversation. The lifeguards didn't say anything, probably because they are teens who are afraid to say anything to adults. My family and I stayed at the opposite end of the 25m pool from them so I am not worried about our personal risk. Our stuff was on the opposite end of the pool deck from theirs so we really had zero contact or shared space.

I think a lot of this depends on how well your pool is enforcing the rules and the culture of your neighborhood. Ours has been very pro social distancing and following rules. A friend's neighborhood (where we used to live) is very cliquey and she said she won't use the pool because people are not social distancing there.

It really depends on how it is being handled. At our pool, they limit the number of families via a reservation system, you must wear masks when out of the water, social distancing is respected, and there are no chairs (you must bring your own). With these guidelines, and because I don't let my kids touch anything (i.e., the metal poles), I feel comfortable.