Many of you may already have seen and signed the petition launched last week, calling on the UK government to allow open-air swimming to continue under any new lockdown. Now that a second lockdown has been announced, and is due to commence on 5 November 2020, we are waiting to hear if open-air swimming can continue.
If you would like to sign the petition, which has received enough signatures to receive a formal response from the government, you can do so below.
We have seen many heartfelt pleas from members for swimming to be allowed to continue given the clear benefits to mental and physical health at such a difficult time for all of us. The open-air nature of our activity does avoid many of the hazards of poorly ventilated enclosed areas, as well as helping to maintain our sense of community.
The City of London’s next steps in managing the bathing ponds and Lido will be based primarily on government decisions in the next two days, subject to a parliamentary vote. However, if swimming is still permitted, this will also need to take into account safe working practices for frontline staff on the Heath, in particular the lifeguards. Each one of us can support that process by following safe distancing instructions whilst swimming on the Heath.