Kentucky is finishing up the final phases of reopening its economy with bars, public swimming pools, and event spaces allowed to reopen at half capacity Monday.
However, not everyone is rushing to open their doors to the public.
Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Director Brent Belcher said the Russell Sims Aquatic Center will not be reopening anytime soon. He said in a normal year over 75,000 people attend events and go swimming at the facility.
“So in other words, we have more than 1,000 people that attend a day. To get that down to a couple hundred people is not conceivable to us,” he said.
Belcher said with the recent uptick in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Bowling Green and across the state, the city’s parks and recreation department doesn’t want to be the cause of community spread.
He said while chlorine and other chemicals will keep the pool water sanitized, he’s concerned about everything else at the facility, such as diving boards, hand railings, and bathrooms.
“So, the thought of having to keep that entirely sanitized and disinfected...we really just don't have the process in mind of how we could conceivably do that and think that the public was not going to be at risk.”
Groups of 50 people or less will also be allowed to gather under the new phase of reopening, and Kentuckians are encouraged to continue following social distancing guidelines.
