It was announced today that municipalities across the province of Quebec were given the green light to open public pools during the summer despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The facilities that are allowed to open include public pools, wading pools and splash pads; in fact, many splash pads opened earlier this week in Montreal amidst the heat wave.
The Quebec government is encouraging municipalities to frequently clean their facilities, paying extra attention to areas like the push buttons of water fountains and splash pads.
Health Minister Danielle McCann issued a statement saying: “The precautions that we’ve taken since the start of the crisis should not make us lose sight of the other essential health needs of our citizens, especially during hot weather (…) that is why opening these summer facilities is so necessary to ensure the comfort (in hot weather) of many people. Still, it’s crucial to remain vigilant, maintain physical distancing and take other measures to limit the spread of the virus in the community.” (Quote source: The Montreal Gazette, 2020.)
This announcement, however, does not give the go-ahead for private aquatic parks to open in Quebec as physical distancing is nearly impossible in these locations.
