The opening of pools for the summer season, which traditionally occurs this Memorial Day weekend, has been affected across the country this year by a shortage of lifeguards.
Some cities have made the decision not to open them or have limited the surveillance time in pools and beaches, which has caused alarm about the risk that bathers face.
Between one-third and nearly one-half of the nation's more than 300,000 pools open to the public will likely be affected, according to an estimate by Bernard J. Fisher II, director of health and safety for the American Lifeguard Association.
"We definitely have a [staffing] shortage," Fisher told CNN, "it's the worst I've ever seen."
Fisher warned that this lack of lifeguards may lead to a
decrease in swimming lessons,
since those instructors need to be certified as lifeguards, which can have deadly consequences, according to the Axios news portal.
"That means we're going to have an
increase in drownings
, because one of the things you have to do is learn to swim as soon as possible," Fischer said.
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The decline in interest in lifeguarding is not a new problem, according to experts interviewed by CNN, but it has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the current shortage of workers, which affects most industries and professions in the country.
Austin, Texas, will have less than half of its municipal pools open by early June, officials told Axios.
The city was only able to hire just over 30% of the 750 employees needed to run them, he said in a statement.
In Phoenix, Arizona, fewer than half of public pools will open because the city can't hire enough lifeguards, despite offering a $2,500 incentive, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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In Delaware, the two city of Lewes beaches will not be patrolled this summer due to lack of staff, according to City Manager Ann Marie Townshend.
"We weren't in a position to police the beach safely," Townshend said, adding that the city didn't want to inadequately staff the beach and create a "false sense of security."
"Parents who take their children to the beach should make sure to watch them, and [know] that their eyes are the ones that should be on the children," he warned, according to The Associated Press news agency.
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, is keeping 10 pools closed, and authorities said they have hired about 56 lifeguards out of the 300 they need, CNN affiliate WISN reported.
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Nearby, Waukesha County announced last week that all of its beaches will be
"swimming at your own risk"
as they will be without lifeguards due to labor shortages.
Other similar ads appear on sites in Indiana, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Chicago, Illinois.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, only had enough lifeguards to open 18 of the 65 outdoor pools available this summer as of April 14, Axios reported.
More than 3,900 children die by drowning each year in the United States, which is an average of 11 deaths per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, in English).
