KIDSCANSWIM – UPDATE ON COVID-19 / OUR CENTRE WILL BE OPEN THIS WEEKEND.

Dear KidsCanSwim Families,

Given the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation here in Canada and across the world and especially in light of the recent school closures we wanted to check-in and provide an update about what this means for KidsCanSwim. The health of guests and staff is a top priority, and we’ve taken precautionary steps to lessen the public health risk associated with COVID-19, as per the steps suggested by the WHO, CDC and health officials.

Our Centre will be open this weekend (March 14th and 15th) and, as previously indicated, closed next week (March 16-19) for mandatory building repairs. During the next 7 days, we will be monitoring and assessing the situation closely and inform you if we must close our Centre should the COVID-19 situation worsen, and/or if Ottawa Public Health (OHP) is recommending that we close.

Below are the steps that KidsCanSwim have been taking:

COVID-19 and Swimming Pools – According to an official statement by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there is no evidence that the virus spreads to humans through the use of pools and hot tubs. As long as pools are properly maintained and disinfected through the use of chlorine the virus should be removed or inactivated. Keeping this in mind, we will also be increasing the level of chlorine in our pools to ensure that it is even safer.

Enhanced Cleanliness Protocol – We will be properly sanitizing all surfaces and objects used throughout the day and ensure that sanitizer is easily available in our Centre for our guests.

Aquatic Educators Health – All of our Aquatic Educators have been properly briefed on our crisis management plan (for example, they will not be using high fives during their classes). Further, they will not be teaching if they are displaying any signs of sickness and/or have travelled abroad in the past 2 weeks. We will also minimize any personal contact outside of the pools.

Constant Re-Assessment of the Situation – Our management team is constantly assessing the situation and listening to the advice of public health officials and the Government of Canada. We will be in touch with you immediately, if things change.

Make-up for families who will be missing their classes – Please be advised that if you prefer to postpone and do not attend your regular class, we fully understand and a free make up lesson will be added to your account on our family portal, valid for 60 days.

What we are asking from your guests:

• Please do not attend classes if you, your kids and/or anyone in your family are coming back from an international trip and/or have been in contact with someone at risk – for details, please see the Health Canada website;
• Please do not attend classes if you, your kids and/or anyone in your family are unwell (even mild symptoms);
• Please wash your and your kids’ hands, for at least 20
  seconds, upon arrival to our Centre;
• Please cover your mouth and nose with your elbow when you sneeze or cough;
• Please do not shake hands with others;

KidsCanSwim was founded on the values of honesty, open-communication and community responsibility. We commit to keeping you up to date with any related changes at KidsCanSwim that may affect you and to manage any potential closures with thoughtful consideration given towards our kids, parents and staff. With these precautionary measures, please be assured that KCS is doing all that we can to continue delivering the service you expect from us, should the COVID-19 situation worsen.

The KCS Team