Three swimming pools and a wading pond for kids in the Montreal borough of Lachine are closed just before a heat wave is expected to blanket Montreal on the weekend.
The borough announced the closure on Wednesday, saying that a lifeguard was diagnosed with COVID-19. Affected facilities include the one at Kirkland Park at 150, des Érables Street, the LaSalle swimming pool and wading pool at 10th Avenue and the Michel-Ménard swimming pool on Roy.
Borough resident Lidia Aloe arrived at the LaSalle pool Friday afternoon hoping for a swim. She said she had no idea of the closures.
“Well, it’s disappointing because I came two weeks ago and I really enjoyed it,” she said.
Another resident, Deejay Sherman, who said he usually brings his two kids to the Kirkland Park pool, is disappointed.
“We were coming here daily and, you know, because of COVID it’s not crowded,” he said. “It’s like 30 people so it’s easy to social distance.”
Jessica St. Pierre, who doesn’t live far from the same pool, is worried because she said she went to that pool in the days leading up to the closure and thinks she and her kids might now be at risk.
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“Yeah. Now we’re wondering,” she said. “We don’t know what to do. Are we gonna get it?”
Lachine officials say Montreal Public Health is investigating but the pools won’t reopen in time for this weekend’s heat and humidity.
Environment Canada issued a weather statement saying a warm air mass is expected to settle over southern Quebec. According to the statement: “Maximum temperatures are forecast to reach or exceed 30 degrees on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.”
It means people will have to find other ways too cool off over the next two days.
In a statement, Borough of Lachine officials said they are “inviting residents to take advantage of the splash pads at Lasalle and Kirkland Parks and at the Escale Marina, which are open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Foggers installed in Carignan and Dixie parks will also allow you to cool off from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., until Sunday.”
Some families like Sherman’s are making use of the splash pad at Kirkland Park, but say for his kids especially, it’s no substitute for a pool.
“They love the water,” he said. “They got the little snorkel so they enjoy that.”
St. Pierre, however, now refuses to even set foot near a public pool.
“No, we’re not,” she told Global News. “Because now our confidence is ah, yeah. We don’t know what to believe anymore.”
Lachine authorities say the pools will remain closed until further notice.
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