Santa Maria Rec & Parks limits activities due to COVID-19

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - There’s nothing like having the entire pool to yourself.

That was the case for swimmer Monya Davison at the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center Thursday morning.

"I just love the routine of a workout in a pool it’s very healthy for you
are you … you’re always pushing against the water so it’s a good workout," said Davison.

This week the Santa Maria Rec and Parks Department reopened its aquatic center.

"We’ve had quite a bit of lab swimmers ... we’ve been able to get the Santa
Maria swim club back into the pool as well … yeah you know we’re happy to
be open and get everybody back in and swimming," said recreation supervisor Rudy Gutierrez of the Santa Maria Rec and Parks Department.

Swimmers are thrilled to be back in the water.

The pool was closed for several days while staff members recovered from COVID-19.

"Our option was to look at how we can keep our employees and the public safe ...
and that usually means having to close office," said director Alex Posada of the Santa Maria Rec and Parks Department.


Now that the pool has reopened, managers hope swimmers will come back and
take advantage of this Olympic size pool.


"Unfortunately at that same time … we ended up having to close the youth
center … which kind of serves as our gateway to the pool," said Posada.

Managers say the youth center closed due to staff exposures off the job.

"So we weren’t able to open our facility and provide the level of
cleanliness required to have the public come into the building ... so the
decision was made to close the facility," said Posada.

While the department continues to limit parts of its facility , Davison is grateful her safety continues to be the department's number one priority.

"It means a lot to me because I know that I’m safe," said Davison.

The youth center is expected to remain closed for at least 14 days.