MONTREAL -- Quebec has given the green light for public outdoor swimming pools and wading pools to open everywhere in the province.
Outdoor splashpads are also okay for children to take over as of Saturday.
Minister of Health Danielle McCann and Minister of Municipal Affairs Andrée Laforest made the announcement in a statement Saturday afternoon.
“This measure aims to offer citizens the opportunity to cool off, among other things in the context of the oppressive heat that several regions of Quebec are currently experiencing,” the statement reads. “The reopening is conditional on respecting physical distancing and other public health directives.”
When the first phase of the sports restart was announced two weeks ago, the strategic medical advisor of public health, Richard Masse, explained that chlorinated water would not be conducive to the spread of COVID-19. Masse was concerned, however, about respecting a distance of two metres between swimmers in pools.
Municipalities should have the final say on the opening of their facilities, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2020.
