Opening of the outdoor pools in NRW
:
The first swimmers jumped into the pool at 6 a.m.
–
->
<! –
–
The outdoor pools are allowed to open for the first time since the start of the corona pandemic.
Photo: dpa / Rolf Vennenbernd
–
–
Dusseldorf / Ochtrup Swimmers have been waiting eagerly for this. The outdoor pools in NRW are allowed to open. However, strict rules apply. And not everywhere in the country are the pools filled with water or the gates open.
<! –
The first outdoor pools in North Rhine-Westphalia opened under special protective measures – and there is a great desire to jump into the cool water. The first swimming fans in Ochtrup in the north of Münsterland were waiting for admission shortly before 6 a.m. The joy here was twice as great, because the mountain pool was renovated. In 2019, the outdoor swimming pool season in the town of Steinfurt was down to three days.
–
Everywhere guests have to adjust to access restrictions and new rules. The spontaneous jump into the cool water after work will not be possible everywhere without restrictions, as Christian Ochsenbauer, Managing Director of the German Bathing Association (DGfdB), said about the nationwide situation in the Corona crisis. Instead, many pools wanted to offer season tickets and online registrations to channel the flow of visitors.
–
The DGfdB recommends restricting access to the pools so that the distance rules can also be observed in the water. “It can happen that people have to queue in front of the pool,” clarified Ochsenbauer. The well-known distance and contact rules also apply to the sunbathing areas – lifeguards or security staff should ensure that they are observed.
–
According to an official assessment, nobody has to worry about the virus spreading through the water: According to the Federal Environment Agency, filtration and disinfection in conventional swimming pool water ensure that viruses are reliably inactivated. In the Corona crisis, the federal states decide on the opening of the outdoor pools: In Saxony they have been allowed to open their doors again since May 15th, in North Rhine-Westphalia the time had come on Wednesday.
–
But not every municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia was already ready to open the outdoor pools on Wednesday. The preparation time for filling the pools and implementing the extensive protective measures was not sufficient in many cities after approval by the state government.
– ->
<! –
The weather didn’t play along everywhere on Wednesday morning. In some places, guests jumped into the water with a gray sky. For the holiday on Thursday, however, the meteorologists predict a lot of sun and temperatures from 23 degrees in the mountains to locally 28 degrees in the Rhineland. There are no more tickets for Father’s Day in several outdoor pools: on Tuesday, for example, there were no appointments online for the Düsseldorf beach pool Lörick and the Bergfreibad Ochtrup.
–
“We let the first 100 swimmers in from 6 a.m.,” said Ochtrup Stadtwerke manager Robert Ohlemüller at the opening on Wednesday as a bath operator. “The early swimmers were already lining up.” As in other swimming pools in North Rhine-Westphalia, the rules for the start were strict. For the time being, the warm showers in the area of the changing rooms are closed. After the first round there was a cleaning, before another 100 swimmers were allowed into the mountain pool.
– ->
<! –
“We are now learning and looking at how people behave. After the first week, we will decide whether to allow more than 100, ”says Ohlemüller. From the rules, there should be a few more. Admission is only possible after prior online registration.
–
In Ochtrup, swimming master Björn Bendias was satisfied in the morning: “I am very happy that we can start again. It was so nerve-wracking with the construction site. Now it would be nice not to have a corona. But better than not opening it at all. ”Marianne Hess is a typical early swimmer and went into the water every day before the corona crisis. “It was terrible, the long time without,” said Hess in Ochtrup when she got out of the pool for the first time.
–
–
:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/b79d1534-9a85-11ea-8b50-0217670beecd.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)