Showering with strangers

[Bird on a Fire]

I went to the public swimming baths the other day.

On the way in it's the usual masks and sanitizer and stuff.

Then, before you swim, you take a communal shower with the other punters.

I was trying to decide if the water would be hot enough, and the soap concentrated enough, to mitigate general transmission risk, or if there was something of a contradiction there.

Likewise the sauna.

What do we think, hive mind?

[jdc]

I don't think the water will be hot enough to kill coronavirus - unless it's also too hot for you.

This https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200 ... shows.aspx reckons it can survive high temperatures.

[WFJ]

I doubt the transmission risk is any higher than in the swimming pool, changing rooms etc. Masks on the way in and out are more for the staff than the punters, I would imagine.

[Bird on a Fire]

The pool itself was outside, but I take your point.

Pretty sure I got away with it anyway.

[WFJ]

When our outdoor pools first reopened the indoor showers were closed completely. Only the outdoor showers were open, which in normal times are only meant for rising off when entering the pool from the grassy sitting areas surrounding it. Since then they have opened the showers but with an official 2 person limit in a room with at least 8 showers in. The couple of times I've been there, this limit seemed to be being ignored by everyone.

The indoor pools have all stayed closed since the first lockdowns.

[Fishnut]

My local council-run pool has reopened and I've started swimming again to help with some wrist problems. They want you to arrive wearing your swimming clothes, change by the pool and only go into the changing rooms to get dressed after your swim. This is all in the name of covid. They aren't requiring masks and haven't done anything to improve ventilation in the changing rooms. I can't understand the logic. Each time I go I think I should really ask what guidance or regulations they're following but chicken out.

[Millennie Al]

I was trying to decide if the water would be hot enough, and the soap concentrated enough, to mitigate general transmission risk, or if there was something of a contradiction there.

It's spread via the air. Soap and water make no significant difference. It's the ventilation you need to worry about.