When will pools reopen? What will changing rooms and swimming will be like post-lockdown?

Tough new social distancing rules could be introduced as swimming pools prepare to reopen to the British public.

Swimming is one of the most popular forms of exercise in the UK - accessible to people who are physically restricted from other activities - but pools have been closed for months due to the pandemic.

Although open-water swimming (in lakes, rivers and seas) has been permitted since May 13 (when rules around outdoor exercise were relaxed), public pools will be among the last businesses to reopen on the government’s roadmap for phasing out lockdown.

Doors look to stay shut until at least July 4, by which point facilities are expected to have implemented social distancing regulations in both pools and - more complicatedly - changing rooms.

England’s national governing body Swim England has been advising the government on how to reopen more than 4,000 of the country’s swimming pools. It announced it will finalise “robust guidance to help the aquatics sector prepare for the reopening of pools” by June 15.

As it stands, the specific conditions remain under construction.

But it is likely we can expect the following restrictions:

Cutting capacity - no more people will be allowed in the pool at a time than can safely swim at a two-metre distance. For example, a standard 25-metre pool would allow a maximum of 10 swimmers per lane: five swimming in each direction.

Lane mergers - Lane numbers may be merged so there are fewer, larger lanes, enabling swimmers to socially distance in the water. This will further reduce the overall pool capacity.

Bookable slots - children will probably have to be booked into lessons or clubs in order to be allowed entry to pools. Activities such as these will be executed with two-metre group separation.

Restricted access to changing rooms - at least in the “early days,” Swim England told the Times, “it may be that you are encouraged not to use the changing rooms. What we're suggesting is going ‘beach-ready’”.

Lengths over play - social distancing is easier with exercise-focused swimming, in which people stick to single file, than with pool play areas. It may be that pools become available only for exercise purposes, rather than leisure.

Banning pool-lounging - in keeping with this, lounging by the side of the pool is likely to be introduced further down the line.

These are the basic measures expected from pools across the board, however we may see more innovative ideas in some cases, with some talk of snorkel masks becoming standard swimming garb.