The Irish government has begun its preparation to relax some restrictions amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and Swim Ireland is preparing accordingly as they hope for a return to the water soon.
The organization “had already established a ‘Return to the Aquatics Protocols’ working group,” writes CEO Sarah Keane in the Swim Ireland newsletter, and they’ve “made several submissions to Sport Ireland/Government in this regard.”
Swim Ireland has been communicating with different organizations in regards to when both pools and open water swimming can reopen and resume.
“We are working closely with Ireland Active, who represent the leisure industry, in relation to protocols and guidance regarding swimming pools,” writes Keane. “We have liaised with the HSE regarding the impact of Open Water and the COVID-19 and we have been working closely with the Sport Ireland Institute in terms of a return to swimming and diving for our high performance/potential Olympic athletes in the near future.”
The organization is currently preparing guidelines for its clubs to follow once facilities are reopened, acknowledging that “for the foreseeable future this will require changes to how we have all operated previously.”
Keane anticipates that a return to open water swimming will be among the first areas of the sport to return. It is worth noting, however, that both the Irish Coast Guard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution both sent out a message to the public on April 30 asking them not to take part in any water-based activities under the current restrictions.
Ireland’s first phase of reopening is expected to start on May 18, which will allow “Outdoor meetings between people from different households” and childcare for healthcare workers being reopened, the return of outdoor workers such as gardeners and repair workers, and a return of “certain outdoor public amenities.” Subsequent phases are slated to follow on June 8, June 29, July 20 and August 10.
Where the reopening of swimming facilities falls remains to be seen, though Reuters lists pools started to run again as part of the July 20 date. You can read more on the proposed phases here.
Clubs in Northern Ireland will be receiving a funding boost from Swimathon, the UK’s biggest annual recreational swimming event, to aid in the financial difficulties they’re dealing with during the pandemic.
Ireland & NZ have 4.8 & 5 million ppl respectively. Ire land has 1400 deaths , NZ has 20 . Weird eh?
Ireland has a population density of roughly 182 people per square mile while New Zealand only has a population density of 46 people per square mile. Based on just how contagious this disease is, the numbers make sense that more cases exist in places where the population is more densely packed.
I would agree that the more early and aggressive spread of the disease has been in places of high population density. However then comparing the overall average population density of each country doesn’t make much sense. Both countries have similar populations, and also similar population in their largest city. Both have about 1/3 living in the largest city and about 1/2 that live in the three largest cities. More similar than not I’d say. I’m not knowledgable enough to explain the difference in cases but your population density argument doesn’t seem to hold (wait for it…) water.