What public recreational activities are safe to participate in as Arizona allows some businesses to reopen while the state is still trying to prevent spread of the COVID-19 pandemic? Arizona’s governor says plans for gyms and swimming pools to open are coming soon. Morteza Abbaszadegan, a Fulton Schools professor of environmental microbiology and director of the National Science Foundation Water and Environmental Technology Center, says it is unlikely people would contract the COVID-19 virus in a well-maintained swimming pool because the chlorine used in pool water inactivates the virus. But Abbaszadegan cautions people to be careful not to come into contact with railings or similar frequently touched surfaces around pools that might harbor the virus.