How safe are the pools?
 

I haven’t been to a pool since February. Would love to hear comments regarding the safety. Is there a capacity limit? Want to go back and enjoy the pools.

I have not been to the neighborhood pools but I have been to the sports pools and I do feel safe. I swim laps. Only one person is allowed per lane. When I'm waiting for a lane, I walk on the other end of the pool. When someone approaches me face to face, I just put my face into the water for a couple of seconds so we are no longer face to face. There is a limit of how many walkers are to be in the pool at one time but the last time I was at Colony sports pool, there was no one to monitor people going in and out.

At Colony, entrance is through the locker rooms and exit is through the gate. Masks are to be worn when not in the water but many people, including me do not put their mask on when they exit the pool. It is very easy to maintain the proper distance from other people when on the pool deck. Plus, it is outside in the sun so there really is very little risk.

We have been going to neighborhood pools for last few months and feel very safe. Listed capacity is 42 in Bonita and never more than a dozen people in it. Nobody is wearing masks but people very spread out.

Went to Truman for first time earlier this week and we were the only ones in the pool.

We had planned when we first went to just leave if we thought it was too crowded.and after a dozen or so visits never a problem.

I would not go until this COVID is over

I go almost every day to Tierra Del Sol. It is capacity limited and the staff clean the chairs after each use. No one wears masks but the chairs are spaced apart.

Whether you feel safe is just a personal thing. I do but know some don't.

Outdoors with fresh air and sunshine is very low risk. We now have over three months with no outbreaks attributed to resumed outdoor activity in the Villages

There are capacity limits but have never seen a pool close to the limit.

Come dressed to swim to avoid changing in interior space. Wash your hands, don't touch your face, maintain distancing.

We go often. Hardly anyone there.

I used the sports pool at Everglades and neighborhood pool at Monarch Grove many times. No problem at all. If you don't feel safe, don't go. Not more to say, most are answers already in the posts.

Just stay healthy and follow the requirements.

If you go and you think it is too crowded and not safe turn around and go home.

Will say in Bonita nobody is wiping down chairs between uses, and we go in the pool dry off and go home without laying on chairs.

Feel Very safe at priority pools

The procedure at the neighborhood pools is that when you're done with a lounger to fold it over so when they come around to clean they know the chair was used.

The recreations news every week mentions pool capacity.

Mulberry sport pool has limits and some cleaning. Class limits set by instructor. The one that scares me is water volleyball..too close for comfort

I have been in our neighborhood pool almost every day since they have reopened. There have been many times I am the only one there or just 2 or 3 others. When it is more crowded it has been easy to distance .A few isolated times I felt it was a little crowded or people weren't being careful with distancing so I left. Never has been close to the capacity number. Evening has also been great. I am a real pool girl and I stay for hours. I never sit in a chair or lounger though but feel it would be perfectly safe. It's my one great joy in life during these stressful times. Great exercise and chance to be social safely. Sunshine is good for the immune system.

Sports pools are limited to a certain number of people, but down in Marsh Bend/Fenny there are no monitors, no masks, no distancing.
It is very unnerving esp. if a swimmer or walker likes to huff and puff. People have started sharing lanes which also narrows the six foot recommended distance.

I have been to the neighborhood pool at Osceola Hills. The most I’ve seen at the pool is 6 but I watch the time I go. Usually late in the afternoon. I did see someone come to clean once. Not very well. Wiped the top of a ladder, The arms of one of he chairs , went into the bathroom and came out 2 minutes later, never touched a chaise , so I’m not sure how good the cleaning is. However, I felt safe most of the time because I was able to social distance myself. One or 2 people didn’t respect that but most did

Then that will be at least another year. Are you going to stop living due to this virus? Keep your distance, wear your mask when not in the pool, if its a pool that appears the people there are being nitwits and packed in then leave. But stopping life isnt the amswer

I play water volleyball 6 days a week and feel safe. It is the only activity where every participant and all the equipment are literally bathed in sanitizing solution. The CDC has stated that Covid can not survive in a properly maintained pool. In addition the likelihood of contracting the virus outdoors is extremely low. I feel more vulnerable in an enclosed space, like a grocery store or restaurant.

We aren't "stopping life". We are having fun inside and in the yards of our nice homes. I am cooking more and painting more and enjoying my wide community of friends on Facebook and Zooming our family in different parts of this world every Monday. Facebook allows many of us to laugh at each other and commiserate with each other daily, and we have a bunch of folks who do just that from The Villages. The only people who are missing this are the ones who think it is dangerous to communicate on Facebook. You certainly can't catch Covid-19 there.

We live together, my husband of 58 years, our daughter who is 55, and our two cats. We cook and clean and communicate with others in myriad ways. We enjoy the front porch and the back lanai and our pool. A lot of people have added pools recently here in The Villages. Husband plays 18 holes four times of week. Stays in his own cart, doesn't eat lunch out, doesn't touch anything anyone touches on the course. He is our "purchasing agent" and it has been fun and interesting to see what he brings home from the grocery. We are blessed to live in a home filled with laughter and fun and good health and don't really mind this pause in social interaction in person.

We have seen far worse and far scarier times than this. Two of us have survived cancer. One of us have had three operations with the heart lung machine...not heart surgery with stents. We have lived long enough to have witnessed extreme sadness and loss of life to those we loved and heartbreaking situations. Our home today is a sweet retreat and soft place to land for awhile.

what is stopping you ? all you need is your villages id............................ maybe

I go almost every day, close to empty at all hours of the day. Yes capacity limit and chairs are placed at good distance apart.

Feeling safe is your responsibility and nobody else only you can decide if you feel comfortable or live in fear.

We go to Hillside in the afternoon. Sometimes we are the only people there but most often less than 10 people. The stated limit is 45 which seems too high. We feel safe as it is easy to maintain distancing in the water. Other folks in the pool tell me it is busier in the mornings. I wouldn't go with more than 10.

Most of our Compadres still go to the pool regularly. I on the other hand desperately miss it. I don't move to fast on land so I would move even slower in the pool. There are too many variables by my going in the pool that are in the hands of others. We went 2 or three times a day in the Good Old Days.

I respect our friend's decisions to carry on as they see fit. I wish all of them respected mine to sit it out till we get a Vaccine.

Since I've been home more than usual I have realized that part of the problem with being agitated sometimes is that I want what I want when I want it. In this case, the lesson learned for me is to chill out. I can wait a bit until the time is rite. I'm betting my life if I make a mistake.

When I pick up the mail for a friend and take a look into the pool many times I don't like what I see. So we are on our own little Island. High and Dry! I think we'll be OK.

The one in my back yard is safe !

Not the cold and not the flu. This virus can be deadly and if you survive there can be long term, oerhaps permanent, vascular damage. There are currently no cures. We hope for an effective vaccine soon but it's not here yet. Don't suggest we all be nonchalant about a virus that has killed over 175,000 people and counting. I'm not suggesting we hide, but I am saying we should take this seriously and abide by the guidelines of safety.

I’m still amazed some people call “COVID Fears”, paranoia after 175,000 Americans have died. Obviously Leadbone1 has not lost anyone to COVID yet, so thanks for your concern for your other neighbors and family. Pools do seem safe and uncrowded but there are still those that want to get to close to chat, simply remind them and they back off, so enjoy the pools again.

No Evidence
 

There is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas, or water play areas. Proper operation and maintenance (including disinfection with chlorine and bromine) of these facilities should inactivate the virus in the water.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...php/water.html

Bravo . The old quote works for you
 

You have made the best out of a bad situation. I myself do venture out more in the last month , mostly because I’m single and I have judged for me that the risk , rewards for maintaining my mental health are worth it

Thhanks for sharing. Good atitude.

Hang in there friend! You have lots of company. I exercise at home and watch lots of good movies on Prime and etc.Time to think and read also. Make the most of bad situation.

Great, I'll be right there!

I suspect those playing water volleyball are in danger. Most walkers stay clear of each other and away from the volleyball area when it is active.

Have not played water volleyball in many years but concerned to play right now as people will be moving rather close to each other.

You “suspect” water volleyball players are in danger. Based on what? How many water volleyball players have tested positive for Covid?

Pool Safety
 

We try to go at times when there are few others in the pool. I feel safe in the pool as long as I can maintain a good distance from others. I have not found this to be difficult, and would leave if it became an issue. I think the following link offers good advice from a trusted source. Safe outdoor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic - Mayo Clinic

How would we know?

Just curious, why ? Do you think a virus can survive in heavily chlorinated water ? I am not questioning that it can, I am just genuinely curious. I have been thinking it is one of the least risky activities I've been doing since most are called off. I have also gone out and played 7-9 holes of golf by myself in the evening and didn't think of that as risky either ? Take my own cart, own clubs. But curious about pool water ?

Several on here have expressed they would not swim until the virus is completely gone so why even tell them what to do to make it safer ? If pools and swimming are not important to some residents, it's not really important to tell them they are stopping living. I am surprised at how many here have never had any interest in swimming, sunning, or patronizing the pools at all, but, to each their own ! Many have no interest in golf either, so not playing golf is not "stopping living" for them. For those people who don't even miss going to the pools, some in my own family....LOL... NOT going to a pool is LIVING...LOL ! Personally I love swimming and just being in the water period. I would like to know why/if people really feel going into highly chlorinated water is risky ? From my limited education concerning how a "virus" behaves, it seems like it would not be viable in chlorinated water ? But, I am not a professional in that field ! Perhaps I am the one taking risks ?

I tend to agree completely, nothing in my education and limited knowledge of virus transmission tells me it is transmitted in chlorinated water. That does not make sense, maybe more if it were a bacteria ? That part I am definitely not confident about here at The Villages is the "properly maintained" part. You sure don't see attendants taking in person test samples every two hours (as well as the computerized auto monitoring systems that do sometimes fail to give accurate readings and additions of the proper chemical balances) like you do at resorts, hotels, public swimming pools, and cruise ships ! Always wondered why we don't see these in person tests like at other places ? I am used to it now, but was shocked years ago that showers were only a "suggestion", and many people make no attempt to shower before getting into the water. That was very strange as I never lived where it was not mandatory, but apparently it is not a health risk here ?