Montgomery’s public and private community pools will not open on Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of summer, the county said Monday.
Restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic have limited all sorts of public gatherings. Although Maryland has begun reopening a limited number of public amenities and stores, Montgomery County officials have said the county is not ready to do the same.
“We know that many in the community equate pool openings with the official start of the summer season, but ongoing COVID-19 restrictions make it impossible to safely open so that swimmers and employees are protected from the spread,” Dr. Travis Gayles, the county’s health officer, said in a press release.
The requirement to stay closed applies to pools operated by Montgomery County Recreation, as well as apartment and condominium complex pools and private swim clubs, a county press release said.
Montgomery County Recreation has seven public outdoor pools, the press release said. They are:
• Bethesda Outdoor Pool
• Germantown Outdoor Pool
• Long Branch Outdoor Pool
• Martin Luther King Jr. Outdoor Pool
• Sara E. Auer Western County Outdoor Pool
• Sergeant Hector I. Ayala Wheaton/Glenmont Outdoor Pool
• Upper County Outdoor Pool
Indoor pools also will remain closed.
The press release said that when pools reopen, new procedures might include:
• Only county residents and pass holders might be admitted
• The number of people admitted might be limited
• Some pool features might be closed
• People must maintain physical distancing by standing at least six feet apart on the pool deck
• People might need to bring their own pool chairs
• Prevention practices such as hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, wearing face coverings where feasible and modifying the space to allow social distancing
