22 July 2016

Arena Aquatic Centre closure

As a precaution, Porirua City Council closed its Arena Aquatic Centre this afternoon after confirmation today of five cases of cryptosporidiosis were linked to the pool.

“The people who became ill swam in the pool between 19 and 26 June, says Pools Manager Sue Chapman.

“Although we have not been instructed by Regional Public Health to close, we believe the health of our customers is paramount. We apologise for the inconvenience to our regular users but expect they would rather we took this precautionary approach.”

Ms Chapman says the aquatic centre will be closed for two days to undertake a complete cleaning regime including treatment of the leisure pool, lane pool, spa and toddler pools with higher doses of chlorine dioxide.
“We will also clean surfaces and pool equipment – anything the water has touched will be washed.”

The pool will reopen at 5am Monday morning.

The symptoms of cryptosporidium appear around a week after people swallow the parasite. They include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and loss of appetite and can last for two weeks. Anyone concerned they may have the illness should go to their doctor.

It is important that people don’t swim for at least two weeks following any illness with diarrhoea and tummy upset to avoid passing bugs to other swimmers. Swimming pools have signage reminding people not to swim after being sick and to shower before entering the pool. It is also important to ensure that babies and toddlers wear a swim suit and/or swim nappy that is tight fitting around their legs.

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