Shore Diving Guidelines Covid-19
Michael Poggione May 27, 2020
General Guidelines:
- The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of a new continuous cough and/or high temperature. If you have these symptoms, however mild, stay at home and do not leave your house for 14 days
- Wash your hands more often than usual, for 20 seconds using soap and hot water, particularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose, or after being in public areas where other people are doing so. Use hand sanitizer if that’s all you have access to.
- To reduce the spread of germs when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, or your elbow (not your hands) if you don’t have a tissue, and throw the tissue in a bin immediately. Then wash your hands or use a hand sanitizer
- Clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and surfaces using your regular cleaning products to reduce the risk of passing the infection on to other people.
Shore Diving Guidelines
- Due to the constraints of limited contact and social distancing It is strongly recommended that only experienced and fit divers return to diving at this stage. Divers that need assistance from others to gear up should not be partaking in the sport at this time.
- Minimize risk by taking an extra conservative approach to your diving
Equipment preparation
Personal diving equipment remains the responsibility of the individual diver. Equipment should be maintained and serviced following the manufacturer’s recommendations,
Pre-Dive Safety Checks
A pre-dive safety check remains an essential safety procedure for diving. Checks can be completed as normal with the buddy pair positioned 6’ apart. If separation can be maintained there should be no need to wear a mask, breathe from a regulator and/or conduct the checks without talking. The diver should breathe off their own regulator while monitoring their pressure gauge, simply to check function.
Dive Entry Procedures
Where possible during water entry, exit and surface swimming divers should maintain a 6’ separation if still breathing surface air. Where conditions, for example uneven surface on entry, require closer proximity from a buddy for support then both divers should have masks and regulators in place, as is normal practice, and ensure they only breathe from their own gas sources.
Dive Procedures
Once underwater with mask and scuba regulator in place there is no need for social distancing. Divers will be wearing protective clothing and fully immersed in water that will be continually bathing all surfaces. Any potential for contamination from exhaled gases will be minimal as they enter the water column and ascend to the surface. Avoiding swimming directly above another diver’s exhaled bubbles may reduce any concerns relating to potential contamination of equipment and bare skin surfaces but should not present a risk of inhalation.
Out of gas procedures
Proper monitoring of gas supply is always an essential routine and its importance should be reinforced prior to any dive. A diver that is in an out of gas (OOG) situation underwater is in a life-threatening situation and the diver will need to take appropriate life-saving action. All divers are trained to deal with such situations both for themselves and to assist a buddy. Divers should plan to be as self-sufficient as possible to deal with such situations in line with their training. A diver carrying their own fully redundant gas supply and trained and practiced in its use is a sensible precaution.
Self-sufficiency does not remove the need to be able to provide a gas supply to an OOG buddy and consistent with ‘Safe Diving’ every diver should have an alternate air supply available and capable of being provided to a buddy.
