Well, the good news is that you can’t catch coronavirus underwater! Nevertheless, it makes sense to take precautions when you’re diving. Covid-19 is spread just like the common cold and influenza, in that it can be caught from a person’s sneezing or coughing, and can exist for short periods of time outside of the body, where it could be picked up and transmitted by surface contact. Above and beyond the hygiene standards advised by WHO, the following recommendations from DAN and PADI should help prevent transmission and infection by divers.
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Use mask defog solution or soap, not saliva and spit to clear your mask;
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Thoroughly disinfect masks (especially the nose pockets), snorkels, regulators and BCD oral inflators before and after use;
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Other potentially infective items might include orally-inflatable SMBs and BCD whistles. Be thorough;
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Make sure the interiors of regulators and snorkels are properly cleaned, not just the mouthpiece;
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Take care when practising air-sharing exercises or buddy checks where two people might share the same regulator;
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Pay particular attention to rental gear. You may wish to ask for it to be disinfected prior to use, even if the staff say it was properly washed after its last outing;
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Commonly used antibacterial cleaning products such as mouthwash are ineffective against coronaviruses. A 10% bleach solution or other appropriate cleaning agent cleaner should be used (household cleaning products, alcohol etc) and, needless to say, thoroughly rinsed afterwards;
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Avoid communal rinse tanks that are not bleached or otherwise cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis;
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Carry disinfectant wipes in your kit bag, but please make sure you dispose of them carefully.
So, what are we at Donkey Divers doing to manage the risks?
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Whilst we are continuing to teach and open the shop as usual, we do ask that if you have any symptoms, please stay away;
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All of our school kit and rental kit is being thoroughly cleaned using a 10% bleach solution as recommended by DAN, however, you are welcome to come and clean the kit again yourself should that give you more confidence;
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If you are using our kit and would like to put your own mouthpiece on the regulator, we are happy to fit this for you and have plenty of different mouthpieces in stock;
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We have always recommended that our students purchase their own mask and snorkel, and we will no longer be providing these items in school kit at all;
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In the event that any of the Donkey Divers team show any symptoms, we will of course self-isolate.
We hope that this puts your mind at rest a little, and if you want to come diving, then of course we are here to help, but equally we completely understand if you would prefer to wait, and reschedule your course.
Even if you do find yourself in isolation, there is plenty you can be doing to develop your diving knowledge, and we plan to offer a number of e-learning options to you so that you can get studying a number of courses in the comfort of your own home, so watch this space.