Amid summer during the pandemic, many are wondering if it’s safe to go swimming. Veuer’s Justin Kircher has what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Q: My children are still too young for the COVID-19 vaccine. Is it OK to enroll them in swim lessons?
A: Yes. Swimming is a great family activity. It's good exercise and it can be a lifesaving skill to have.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends water safety and swim lessons for all children as a layer of protection against drowning. While a COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 12 is not yet available, taking extra precautions can help lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure during swim lessons.
When considering swim lessons for your children, look for programs that follow the same public health guidelines used to protect against COVID-19 during other children's activities, such as school and sports. This includes keeping kids home if they are not feeling well, have had a fever within the last couple days, or have had close contact with someone with COVID-19 within the past two weeks. Also check that staff and visitors are screened for COVID-19 symptoms.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends water safety and swim lessons for all children as a layer of protection against drowning.
Here are some other questions to consider and tips to follow:
— Are lessons held indoors or outdoors? If possible, choose outdoor swim lessons. COVID-19 can spread easily in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.
— How many students are in each class? Check that the class size is small and the pool allows for participants to stay at least 3 feet apart. Also ask if there are separate entrances and exits to the locker room and pool area. This can also help reduce close physical contact.
— Have instructors and staff received COVID-19 vaccinations? Ask if instructors and staff are vaccinated. And even if they are vaccinated, they should still wear a mask outside of the pool. That goes for any child older than 2 who is not in the water, and also anyone else who is working there and you. Just be sure to replace your child's mask if it is wet.
— Are guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting followed? Ask if the swim program follows all CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting all equipment and surfaces. Also check that hand sanitizer is available for kids and adults to use.
— Skip the locker room: If possible, avoid using the locker rooms and other shared spaces. Have your child put his or her swimsuit on at home so you can head right to class.
— Bring your own things: That includes towels, drinking water, sunscreen and goggles.
— Get COVID-19 vaccines as soon as you can: Vaccination is the best way to control the pandemic and will make important children's activities like swim lessons safer for everyone. Adults and children 12 years and older can be vaccinated now, and younger children should be able to get them soon.
Enrolling your children in swim lessons is definitely a good idea, but keep in mind that swimming skills are only one layer to help keep kids safe in and around water. It's important to remember that swim lessons do not prevent all drownings.
Even though your child is in a swim lesson, be a water watcher: Watch your child and watch for any child who may be in distress. Take CPR and first aid classes, which will teach you what to do for a drowning victim.
Everyone, including adults, should learn to swim. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that water safety and swim lessons can begin for many children starting at age 1.
Deciding when to start should be based on a variety of individual factors, including how often your child may be around water, your child's emotional maturity, physical and developmental abilities and limitations, interest in learning to swim, and how comfortable he or she is in the water. Your pediatrician is a good resource to help know if your toddler is ready.
Check with your pediatrician to help you make the decision on when to start swim lessons and to learn about other ways to help protect your child against COVID-19.
From concerts to camps: How to stay COVID-safe during your summer vacation
Cars vs. planes, trains and buses
Cars and private RVs are still recommended for the unvaccinated. But if you are fully vaccinated, it’s fine to take public transit, such as buses, trains and airplanes.
Don’t count on adjacent seats being open; those days are over. If possible, sit by a window and put on the ventilation. Wear a mask – not just to be polite, but because you’re surrounded by people from all over, who may not have had access to vaccines.
If you’re traveling during meal times, consider waiting to eat until everyone else finishes and puts their masks back on. Avoid waiting in long lines while boarding or going to the restroom.
Where to go
Our Instagram feeds are full of friends heading to exotic places. But you might have to offer proof of a vaccine — or be tested or be quarantined — before your destination will admit you.
The U.S. State Department has expanded its “do not travel” warnings to include the majority of countries worldwide. If you get sick or stuck, there’s little that our government will do to help. So if you decide to travel right now, consider all the potential risks. To learn more about individual countries, go to https://travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/.
For domestic travel, pay attention to the conditions in the place that you’re visiting. If they’re a “hotspot’ of viral infection, try to choose activities where there are fewer people. Or wear a better quality mask.
Because COVID-19 risks can shift quickly, think about paying a little more for an airline ticket that offers refunds and greater cancellation flexibility. Consider travel insurance that includes pandemic coverage.
Restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels
While indoor dining is safe for vaccinated people, outdoor dining will be this summer’s safe norm. Skip the romantic wine cellars and instead grab a table at a patio, sidewalk café, garden sanctuary or dining pavilion.
As a courtesy to your waiter, keep your mask on until it is time to eat; they may not have had a chance to be vaccinated. Also keep it on if you visit the restroom, when you’ll be walking past other diners.
Hotels have stepped up their cleaning protocols for rooms, and the risk from previous occupants is quite low. The greater risk comes from crowded lobbies or elevators.
Again: location, location, location. A hotel or indoor restaurant in San Francisco or Hawaii will be safer than places in “hotspot” states in the Upper Midwest or Great Lakes states.
Traveling with kids
Children can become infected and transmit the virus among themselves, because they’re not yet vaccinated. So if your kids are toddlers and hate wearing masks, traveling will pose a risk — especially if there are crowds.
The danger isn’t great for them, because children rarely get severely sick. But they can spread it to anyone who isn’t protected.
This complicates events like weddings, where you don’t know everyone’s vaccine status. And you might want to rethink travel to geographic hotspots of infection; in contrast, someplace like a Hawaiian beach, where infection rates are quite low, is much safer.
If grandma and grandpa are vaccinated, feel free to visit.
Water parks, pools and camps
Beaches and pools are relatively safe places to enjoy the warm weather. But be careful in locker rooms, at long lines for diving boards or in crowds around waterslides.
Summer camps are a lot like school — but they’re outdoors, so they’re safer. The important thing is for counselors and other adults to be vaccinated.
Concerts, kissing – and unvaccinated friends
Assuming you are fully vaccinated, the average concert doesn’t pose a great risk. But experts still get queasy about big venues packed with thousands of strangers — especially if they’re screaming and singing, with lots of alcohol and few masks. The larger the crowd, the more nervous they get.
But it’s a personal decision: How much is it worth to you? If you’ve waited all pandemic to dance in a moshpit, go for it.
Kissing is fine if you’re both vaccinated, of course. What if they’re not vaccinated, but you are? They’re at risk, not you. Consider a conversation: Tell them you’re worried about their safety.
How do you handle those friends and family members who refuse to get vaccinated but will also expect to see you this summer?
“I think it’s perfectly polite to just ask straight out: ‘Have you been vaccinated? Will you be vaccinated by the time we meet?’ ” said epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Rivers, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.
“And if they say no,” she said, “I think it’s reasonable to say, ‘That won’t work for me.’ “