Future Directions: Where Is Diving Going?

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There are several important issues to think about re COVID-19 and resuming diving. For example:

1. How does the virus behave in a high-humidity marine or freshwater environment? Is the virus more readily transferred from one diver to another (say, when the divers are suiting up on deck, or lounging in the cabin, or using the head)? Is it more likely to be transferred from an infected piece of equipment to another (i.e., someone else's) piece of equipment--for example, when one 2nd stage brushes/rests either against someone else's 2nd stage or on an infected desk or bench, or uses the same rinse bucket?

2. How does the virus behave in a high PP and/or high PPO2 environment--you know, when you're scuba diving at depth? So, if you are infected (but perhaps asymptomatic), does diving exacerbate/intensify the effects of the virus? What if you have to undergo hyperbaric treatment?

3. What if you need to administer (or receive) CPR?

4. What if you need to buddy-breathe?

5. (More)

Is any of these issues satisfactorily addressed simply by reducing the occupancy of a dive boat by 50% and having the divers occupy every other seat?

rx7diver
 
The second people/businesses can get away with filling boats full of people who don’t give a crap, they will. There will be far more people who don’t give a crap than who do..Unless there are very specific mandated fines and those fines are enforced en masse, people will flout the advisories, Heck, Anywere you look, Social distance is becoming a complete clown show...

Humans are humans, they aren’t going to comply for long...the UK is already moving to a ‘permitted disobedience’ stage.. no one is being reprimanded or stopped. It will move quickly to ‘if you are worried, stay away’
 
I don’t think it needs to or will be that different in the long term. Short term, smaller groups with more space in the boat, probably some change (chemical) to rental gear cleaning, masks...

My LDS is doing classes and it seems to be working. They just had a tank fill class which included 2-tank dive to “refresh” how ops work, what to do with tanks, etc. they limited to 8 total on the boat. It sold out in minutes. I didn’t go so idk what else they did differently.

The dive shops opened a week or two ago and seem relatively busy. The shore divers are diving, having distanced lunches together, etc. I personally am shopping local for more gear.
 
1. How does the virus behave in a high-humidity marine or freshwater environment? Is the virus more readily transferred from one diver to another (say, when the divers are suiting up on deck, or lounging in the cabin, or using the head)? Is it more likely to be transferred from an infected piece of equipment to another (i.e., someone else's) piece of equipment--for example, when one 2nd stage brushes/rests either against someone else's 2nd stage or on an infected desk or bench, or uses the same rinse bucket?

Currently being studied, awaiting conclusions.... But studies on Rhinovirus and Common Coronaviruses (common cold) conclude that higher humidity reduces transmission rate, as does higher temperature. That does not necessarily translate to how SARs-COV-2 reacts, but is in the same family...

Source: From 0:37~4:00

2. How does the virus behave in a high PP and/or high PPO2 environment--you know, when you're scuba diving at depth? So, if you are infected (but perhaps asymptomatic), does diving exacerbate/intensify the effects of the virus? What if you have to undergo hyperbaric treatment?

Needs study...

3. What if you need to administer (or receive) CPR?

You're already using a CPR mask right? And, if it comes down to saving a life, you can (most likely, 99.8%) survive covid, you can't survive dead (drowning).

4. What if you need to buddy-breathe?

Buddy breathing, in the sense of passing the same regulator back-and-forth is no longer practiced or recommended, but again, you can survive covid (by a pretty wide margin, assuming you were to catch it from sharing air anyways), but you can't fix dead (drowning).

IMO, I don't see the problem here......

Edit to add: The last two are similar to the following scenario; You're out hiking the beautiful deserts of the SW US, you get lost, you're out of water.... time passes and you're now in the situation where you need water, or you will die. You see a nasty, stagnant puddle of water, which most certainly contains cryptosporidium, giardia, e. coli, and a whole host of other baddies, with no way to purify the water.... Do you not drink this obviously unsafe water and die? Or do you drink the water, get rescued (or find your way out) and survive, then treat the resulting infections from the bad water? (and yes, those resulting infections can be fatal)
 
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Currently being studied, awaiting conclusions.... But studies on Rhinovirus and Common Coronaviruses (common cold) conclude that higher humidity reduces transmission rate, as does higher temperature. That does not necessarily translate to how SARs-COV-2 reacts, but is in the same family...

Source: From 0:37~4:00



Needs study...



You're already using a CPR mask right? And, if it comes down to saving a life, you can (most likely, 99.8%) survive covid, you can't survive dead (drowning).



Buddy breathing, in the sense of passing the same regulator back-and-forth is no longer practiced or recommended, but again, you can survive covid (by a pretty wide margin, assuming you were to catch it from sharing air anyways), but you can't fix dead (drowning).

IMO, I don't see the problem here......

Edit to add: The last two are similar to the following scenario; You're out hiking the beautiful deserts of the SW US, you get lost, you're out of water.... time passes and you're now in the situation where you need water, or you will die. You see a nasty, stagnant puddle of water, which most certainly contains cryptosporidium, giardia, e. coli, and a whole host of other baddies, with no way to purify the water.... Do you not drink this obviously unsafe water and die? Or do you drink the water, get rescued (or find your way out) and survive, then treat the resulting infections from the bad water? (and yes, those resulting infections can be fatal)


Regarding ‘air sharing’ , when your buddy signals that they are ‘out of air’ and need help.. what is the approved hand signal for ‘But what about Covid-19??!!’
 
Regarding ‘air sharing’ , when your buddy signals that they are ‘out of air’ and need help.. what is the approved hand signal for ‘But what about Covid-19??!!’

It's "you should have thought about that before we left the boat" but I don't know it in ASL
 
There are several important issues to think about re COVID-19 and resuming diving. For example:

1. How does the virus behave in a high-humidity marine or freshwater environment? Is the virus more readily transferred from one diver to another (say, when the divers are suiting up on deck, or lounging in the cabin, or using the head)? Is it more likely to be transferred from an infected piece of equipment to another (i.e., someone else's) piece of equipment--for example, when one 2nd stage brushes/rests either against someone else's 2nd stage or on an infected desk or bench, or uses the same rinse bucket?

2. How does the virus behave in a high PP and/or high PPO2 environment--you know, when you're scuba diving at depth? So, if you are infected (but perhaps asymptomatic), does diving exacerbate/intensify the effects of the virus? What if you have to undergo hyperbaric treatment?

3. What if you need to administer (or receive) CPR?

4. What if you need to buddy-breathe?

5. (More)

Is any of these issues satisfactorily addressed simply by reducing the occupancy of a dive boat by 50% and having the divers occupy every other seat?

rx7diver

You just worry too much over this virus. None of those matter if the virus concentrations are low & you would minimize to be exposed in high concentration area by often cleaning your hands, not touching your nose with your dirty hands, social distancing, wearing PPE when social distancing is not possible, etc.

If you hangout in hospital or with sick people without PPE. You would be exposing yourself with the high concentration of the virus.

High humidity, high temperature (summer time), and outdoor would lower the virus concentration. Diving is the perfect scenario for this.

Basically I would practice all these steps in my next liveaboard trips. My next one is in July. I’ll report to you if I get knock out by the virus & still alive (knock on wood). From then on I’ll have diving trips lining up every month till December.

July - Guadalupe, Mexico
August - Jupiter, Florida
September - Cocos, Costa Rica
October - French Polynesia
November - Tiger Beach, Bahamas
December - Raja Ampat, Indonesia
 
There was a quote "You just worry too much about this virus". I don't worry a whole lot for myself, but I do for my wife (who is "compromised") and particularly for the elderly and others who are more at serious risk or death. I would not consider a liveaboard at all until there is a vaccine. I feel 100% comfortable with my usual solo shore diving and that's it until the vaccine-- not even a buddy dive with one buddy. That way I feel I'm being responsible to others. Yes, we have to shop for food, etc. and I will go as far as entering the LDS (with mask on) for fills.
You will not see me on a crowded Florida beach or in that ridiculously crowded maskless hoard in that Toronto park.
 
One real consideration of the beervirus is how much the entire industry is subsidized to a degree by elderly and obese divers. The very ones who are more at risk. As they hopefully will wisely limit their exposure by not participating in activities that significantly increase risk there will be some need to either reduce the amount of charters or the amount of people on them. Probably increasing costs for the rest of that community. Already seeing this in some that are open for business.
Another consideration is just how few younger people are actually going outside or participating in risky or costly hobbies. PS4 and VR games are cheaper and less risky to what seems to be a very soft generation.
Yet another is with the current shift towards awareness about resources, the environment and income inequality there may be restrictions coming based on any of those issues. Either towards travel based on environmental concerns and even higher taxes reducing disposable income.
Or not
 
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