Parents who rushed their children to overcrowded HCM City swimming pools to escape the recent heat wave may have put them at risk of infections, . . .

Parents who rushed their children to overcrowded HCM City swimming pools to escape the recent heat wave may have put them at risk of infections, the municipal Preventive Health Centre has warned.

Overcrowded pools putting swimmers at risk of illness

Water in most swimming pools is hygienic

Swimming pools in HCM City become crowded from 3pm every afternoon. Doctors say overcrowded pools may cause the water to become unhygienic, threatening swimmers’ health.

Hoang Thi Ngoc Ngan, head of the centre’s Public Health Division, said that masses of people enjoying the swimming pools each day were overcrowding the facilities.

“Overcrowded pools may contain unhygienic water which could provide favourable conditions for bacteria growth, especially if the water isn’t sanitised very often,” Ngan said.

The latest results of inspections by the centre revealed that most of the city’s swimming pools failed to meet water hygiene and safety standards. More than 30 among 71 pools were discovered to be underchlorinated. The remainder were filled with unrotated water and unsterilised surroundings.

Insufficient chlorine in the water could result in the growth of some types of bacteria that cause skin and respiratory diseases, according to Ngan.

Trung Tan Phong, head of the Yet Kieu Swimming Club in Binh Thanh District, said that the club accepted around 500 swimmers each day, mostly children between 6 to 18 years old.

Phong said the pool was equipped with a filter system which allowed the club to replace only half of the water each time they sterilise the pool.

Nguyen Khac Binh, a resident of Tan Binh District, said he took his three children to the swimming pool as a good way for them to get some exercise and beat the heat.

However, Binh said he had no idea how often the pool was sterilised.

“I don’t think they (the pool’s owner) change the water often because there is always a strong smell of chlorine surrounding the pool,” Binh said.

According to doctors from the HCM City Eye and Dermatology Hospital, many children have been seen recently for skin problems and red eye treatment.

Doctors said the level of chlorine must always range between 0.4-0.8 milligrams per litre to assure safe water quality.

According to Ngan, swimmers, especially children, should wear goggles and earplugs when swimming to avoid eye and ear diseases and use eye drops to clean their eyes when they get out.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News