Albox, Cantoria and Arboleas join the summer closure of swimming pools
The Town Councils do not believe that requirements can be met to safely open their pools
Almost all the municipalities of the Valle del Almanzora will keep their municipal swimming pools closed to avoid infections this summer, a decision to which all the mayors of the Valley of Almanzora Association of Municipalities agreed yesterday (Wednesday 3rd June 2020) including Albox, Cantoria and Arboleas.
"Infeasible" opening
The mayor of Albox, Francisco Torrecillas, sees the opening as "unfeasible", because, after reviewing the government health advice on the security protocols, they realised that there were "such a number of requirements" that it was impossible to "control them in a reliable way ”, Francisco Torrecillas said in a statement to Cadena SER Levante yesterday.
For the councilman it is a matter "more serious than it seems" and before which the institutions have to comply "strictly" with the protocols established by the experts, so "for the moment" the opening of the facilities is ruled out. Although, "if the protocols change, this is going to be better and we can comply with them, in a week we will have the pool back working," he assured.
Of the same opinion is Purificación Sánchez, the socialist mayor of Cantoria, who affirms that her government team made the decision "long ago" to keep the pools closed during the summer season.
"Although it is true, according to experts, that in chlorinated water there is no danger, we should also have control of all the surroundings of the pool, such as lawns, railings and bathrooms", which would entail, according to the mayor, "having more people working for maintenance than the people who, ultimately, could enjoy this service."
Insufficient staff
The mayor of Arboleas, Cristóbal Torres, also refers to insufficient personnel. "Right now we have two lifeguards for 130 bathers and if the conditions lead us to have a rigorous control of people we would need to multiply those guards by ten. We do not have the capacity for that, the bathrooms would be too expensive", maintains the mayor, who did not rule out opening the pool if the conditions of de-escalation are smoothed out.
