Toronto reopens 58 outdoor swimming pools

Toronto to reopen 15 swimming pools today Some of Toronto’s swimming pools will reopen today but their capacity will be reduced.

TORONTO — Some of Toronto’s swimming pools have reopened Friday but their capacity will be reduced and anyone wishing to go for a swim will have to provide their contact information.

The city operates 58 outdoor swimming pools but it will only open 15 of them today with the remaining pools scheduled to open tomorrow.

"The reality of COVID-19 has changed a lot of things, but we're not letting COVID-19 cancel summer," Toronto Mayor John Tory said during a news conference at Heron Park outdoor pool.

Tory said the city has a plan to ensure that all aquatic amenities are safe as possible throughout the summer.

Capacity at all pools will be reduced to 25 per cent “to provide space for physical distancing” and swimmers will be asked to sign-in with their first name and an email or phone number to facilitate contact tracing, should it be necessary, the city said

The city said that swimmers will also be limited to 45-minute sessions “to allow for enhanced cleaning.”

"This is not because we want to be stingy with these facilities that belong to the people, but it is because we're trying to avoid crowd scenes where too many people might end up in the pool at the same time, or people might go into the pool who are ill, or who've been in contact with someone who's ill," Tory said.

The pools that will reopen today include:

Wading pools and swimming pools have been permitted since Toronto enter Stage Two of the province’s recovery plan on Wednesday.

All 140 splash pad locations will open by Saturday, the city said.

However, the city said that its wading pools will not begin to open until July 1. It is expected to take 11 days from that point to reopen all of the city’s wading pools.

"We want them to have a great summer and have a chance to cool off, but we have to do it in the context of the fact that we are still in a pandemic," Tory said.