COVID-19, heat wave may increase drowning cases
Experts concerned over lack of caution shown at beaches this summer
As more people head for a beach escape from the harsher realities of daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic, one local scientist is concerned about a potential increase in drowning victims.
Chris Houser, dean of science at the University of Windsor, co-authored an op-ed piece in an academic publication outlining “the perfect storm of conditions ” that could lead to tragedy.
“People who have been cooped up in the house for a very, very long time want to get out,” Houser said. “You have people who aren’t going to work, who have more flexibility with their hours so they head to the beach in the afternoon. You’ve taken the time to drive out to Colchester Beach and the waves are bad. You’re probably going to go in regardless of the conditions.”
At the moment, Colchester Beach is closed after large crowds were reported there in late June. Administration for the Town of Essex is still finalizing preparations for it to reopen.
There are, as a rule, no lifeguards at Colchester Beach.
Sand Point Beach in Windsor is slated to open Aug. 4 with lifeguards but some people recently pushed open the fencing to access it regardless.
Many public pools — including the City of Windsor’s — remain closed due to pandemic restrictions, luring even more people seeking relief from the heat and humidity to the shores of Lake Erie.
“For the Windsor area, that means fewer choices right now,” said Barbara Byers of the Lifesaving Society of Ontario. “The safest place to swim is where there are lifeguards.”
Houser notes that “Michigan has basically cancelled all lifeguard programs and they just had a major spike in drownings over the July 4th weekend.”
Crowded beaches may present a false image of greater safety.
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project tracks all drownings in either U.S. or Canadian waters. The GLSRP reported five drownings over the recent holiday weekend and one person in critical condition. The July 4 holiday fell on a Thursday in 2019 and there were two drowning deaths in the days immediately surrounding that holiday.
Overall, GLSRP reported 97 drowning deaths in 2019. There have been 26 so far in 2020, with 14 in Lake Michigan and six in Lake Erie.
Houser and Robert Brander, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia, have worked together for years studying riptides and beach hazards.
In their recent opinion piece, they noted two drowning victims at Holland State Beach Park in Michigan June 6 where budget cuts meant there were no lifeguards and no warning flags about water conditions.
“People are tired of warnings and restrictions,” the article said. “They may ignore those at the beach. More people may enter the water even if conditions aren’t ideal.”
Houser said a man in his 20s drowned at Wasaga Beach June 30 when the waves were bad and there were no lifeguards present.
Even backyard pool drownings have the potential to spike. Industry experts in the U.S. and Canada report increased pool sales — some by more than 50 per cent — as families sticking to home look for a form of summer entertainment.
More parents are working from home while trying to supervise children. Experts fear that could lead to more opportunities for children to get out of the house and into a pool undetected.
So far this year, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, has reported a 150 per cent increase in child drowning incidents compared with the same time period in the last two years.
Byers agrees with Houser that it could be a dangerous summer by the water. She said preliminary statistics for Ontario are holding steady but warns: “It’s early days. It’s only July 9.”
Preliminary statistics show there have been 35 drownings in Ontario as of July 6, up two from the same period last year.
“COVID -19 has created a perfect storm that could make beaches more popular than ever before and raise the risk of drowning,” the article concludes. “So far, most of the concern has focused on the lack of social distancing and the looming threat of a second COVID -19 wave, but that focus may soon shift to drowning. Are we going to love our beaches to death?”