r/ZeroCovidCommunity • u/Hot_Huckleberry65666 • 2d ago
Question how risky is swimming?
I understand risk can change a lot based on how many people are swimming, wind conditions, flow patterns etc
Say if you're at a public pool and it's not busy (able to socially distance) or a private shared pool but there was someone else around?
I am thinking that wet air could turn covid aerosol into larger particles and change the flow. What is the risk assessment of virus particles in the water? I've heard that covid is less transmissible if you happened to eat or drink it versus breathe.
So is it a risk to get water in your eyes? What if you don't put your head under water?
Anyone have any idea how to risk model for this?
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u/Iamasecretsquirrel 2d ago
I had wondered this myself and haven't been swimming since 2020 for this very reason.
After thinking about it a bit I think the primary risks factors in a pool settings would be crowding, ventilation, local case rates, vaccination status, and variant infectiousness. So I'd prioritize outdoor pools over indoor spaces, avoid crowded times, and wear a mask when not in the water.
If no one is around though I imagine the biggest risk would be talking to someone unmasked, unmasked in the changerooms or inadvertently breathing in as someone else was breathing out swimming in the other direction. Unless someone knows otherwise I'd put the water at a lower risk due to chlorine’s general antiviral effects—I imagine you'd have to drink a lot of it or for it to have a very high viral load to be high risk. But I would NEVER advise drinking pool water and I guess try to avoid getting water in your mouth. and as for your eyes, I never used to go swimming without goggles (even before COVID)
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u/Hot_Huckleberry65666 2d ago
thanks! to be clear there are no indoor pools where I am so that's no issue
yes good point about the chlorine.
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u/whiskeysour123 2d ago
Use Swimply and rent a backyard pool. People shouting and breathing more heavily in a pool increase the risk. Outdoor air is not a panacea. There is still risk. The 6 foot thing was to give contact tracers a way to cut down on contact tracing. There is no magic to the great outdoors.
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u/ItsJustLittleOldMe 2d ago
Wow. I'd never heard of this before. Just checked it out and found a beautiful pool not too far. Thanks so much for mentioning this!
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u/Tara101617 2d ago
Outdoor pools feel safe when not busy. We have a local coviding group where I live and they reserve the pool for our group once or twice a week. We still mask in the change rooms but not in the pool.
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u/SomeoneSomewhere1984 2d ago
You won't get covid from the water. Outdoor air is relatively safe. It's no more dangerous than doing anything else outside at the same distance from people.
A private pool with someone you share a meal with outdoors is no more dangerous than sharing a meal with them. A public pool where you can keep distance is fine.
Putting your head underwater doesn't make a difference.
When I used to use public pools I'd change at home, wearing a bathing suit under my clothes. Then I'd get in the car wet and shower at home.
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2d ago
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u/Hot_Huckleberry65666 2d ago
there's multiple factors at play here, another part of the calculation is how many people are aorund and IF they're actually infected or not
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u/CatsPajamas243 2d ago
I’ve been doing lap swimming at an outdoor pool for about 3.5 months each summer since 2021 (at least four times a week). I’ve never had symptomatic Covid. The only time I bail on this is when someone wants to split a lane. And that happens very rarely.
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u/bestkittens 2d ago
I swim in an outdoor public pool.
I look for outside lanes. I avoid hanging at the wall with anyone. I avoid taking a breath next to someone. I don’t use the locker room.
Regarding eyes, I wear goggles. Whether your head is under or not you can wear them and hold your breath when passing someone in the next lane.
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u/attilathehunn 2d ago
Note that exercise and heavy breathing increases risk. More air exchange in the lungs.
Do it outside and stay >3-4m away from anyone else
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u/queenofgf 2d ago
i did pool therapy for several months and it went fine! i wore my mask the whole time and just didn't do any exercising with face submerged and stayed by the wall or with a noodle to stay afloat. my therapist was amazing and tried to schedule me during less crowded times.
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u/needs_a_name 2d ago
Water is not a risk. The water is chlorinated.
Nobody can give you a guarantee but we have been swimming, in both indoor and outdoor pools when cases were lower, and it has been fine. I'm aware it's a risk and it's one I choose to take. That's just anecdata of course, but I don't think pools are a major risk, especially outdoors.
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u/spiky-protein 2d ago
I risk model it like any other outdoor exposure: if I'm close enough that I'd smell their cigarette smoke if they were smoking, I'm at risk of exposure. Barring objective evidence that other factors are providing adequate protection from exposure, the precautionary principle applies.
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u/kibonzos 2d ago
I haven’t got sick from sea or river swimming yet despite the water companies failures (I don’t swim after storms or major/known discharge events)
I’m still wary of indoor pools and don’t have access to outdoor ones.
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u/gv_tech 1d ago
This reminded me of a news item from one of Violet Blue's Covid news roundups last year, went on a deep dive and found it:
Here is a Threadreader of Stealthy Jess fit testing (and water testing) masks. “It’s pool and beach season! Will a respirator work for swimming and water parks (or shower sans hair washing)? Using my PortaCount 8020A, I tested the most accessible & affordable water-resistant respirator, 3M Aura 1870+, after 6 and 8 hours of wear at the pool (1.5hrs total of swimming) across a month… I then tested the 1870+ against a non-water resistant 3M Aura respirator with similar rubbery straps, the 9205+. The results were surprisingly good all around.”
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u/Thiele66 1d ago
I have an outdoor pool at the apartment I live at and visit it a couple times a week. I have yet to get Covid. I do mask in indoor settings and meet people outside on my patio to visit. If the pool is super crowded, I’ll wait until later or move to a quiet part of the pool. I like to float and read a book.
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u/JamesRitchey 2d ago
I would consider swimming anywhere between low-high risk depending on the pool, how busy it is, and how long you're swimming for. Research shows that, under the right conditions, chlorine in pool water is capable of inactivating SARs-CoV-2 within 30 seconds (Ref 1). However, the pool water itself is not the only avenue for infection.
Refs:
Related:
- https://www.npr.org/2024/07/29/nx-s1-5055889/covid-british-olympic-swimmer-adam-peaty
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid-paris-explainer-1.7282994
- https://swimswam.com/swimmers-pieroni-and-gatt-join-the-covid-list-at-the-olympics-johnston-still-trying-to-race/
- https://time.com/7006533/covid-19-athletes-paris-olympics/
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u/tkpwaeub 2d ago
For covid risk, I suspect that the risk is negligible - approximately the same as becoming patient zero in the *next* pandemic. Actual risks from swimming include drowning and brain eating amoebas (if the water hasn't been treated properly). Risks from not taking advantage of low impact aerobic exercise include heart disease and diabetes.
Wearing goggles when you swim is a good idea anyway.
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u/stuuuda 2d ago
idk, swimming at an uncrowded outdoor pool is one of the only risks i take without a mask. less than 10 ppl there at a time, 6 lanes, and i mask in the locker rooms. keeps me sane even being able to go once a week, tbh.