“After all, swimming pools in Hong Kong use chlorine or ozone for disinfection which can kill germs and viruses. If the pools can be reopened, we will take all precautionary measures to make it safe for swimmers.”

Chiu said a survey conducted by the association last month revealed that 60 per cent of the almost 3,000 respondents from athletes or parents said they had been affected physically or psychologically due to the lack of training following the closure of the pools. More than 90 per cent of the respondents wanted training to resume as soon as possible.

Golf clubs given go-ahead to reopen facilities next week

The government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department manages a total of 44 public swimming pool complexes in Hong Kong, of which nine are on Hong Kong Island, 13 in Kowloon and 22 in the New Territories. Most of the club training at development level is conducted in public pools, while the Sports Institute swimming pool in Fo Tan is still open for elite training.

The association suggested a number of precautionary measures to help prevent the spread of the deadly virus, including conducting temperature checks while providing hand sanitisers at the entrance. All users have to declare their health condition and travel history over the last 14 days.

The maximum number of users for one lane has been reduced from 25 swimmers to 15 and swimmers can only swim in one direction within the lane. Showers will not be used at all in changing rooms as another measure to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Many of our coaches are struggling as they have no classes and have lost all income during this period,” said Chiu. “The government is providing a one-off subsidy of HK$7,500, but that’s only for registered coaches who have been out of a job for more than three months.

“We estimate there are another 1,000 qualified coaches who have not registered with the association and are ineligible for the subsidy.

HK$7,500 for coaches ‘better than nothing’, says swimming’s Sherry Tsai

“We hope the government can make provisions in the subsidy scheme to benefit these coaches and provide a relief scheme to swimming clubs, just like other local businesses that are suffering from the Covid-19 outbreak.”

Under the government’s Anti-epidemic Fund, fitness centres and other operators under the Places of Amusement Licence such as snooker halls or tenpin bowling allies are eligible for a one-off subsidy of HK$100,000.

The LCSD will reopen some of its leisure facilities from Wednesday, including non-fee charging outdoor facilities such as cycling facilities, badminton courts, tennis courts, skateparks and skateboard grounds. Some indoor facilities such as badminton courts, squash courts and table tennis rooms will reopen from next week.

However, other leisure facilities such as public swimming pools, soccer pitches and basketball courts will continue to be closed until further notice, according to an announcement last week.