NSRI
The National Sea Rescue Institute appealed to the public to be cautious in and around coastal and inland waterways in this week leading up to Christmas Day.
The NSRI said the concern was that where beaches have been closed temporarily by Covid19 restrictions more people may go swimming at inland waterways, rivers, lakes, and dams and at swimming pools.
“We are appealing to the public to be cautious and parents must ensure that children have responsible adult supervision in and around water, and the responsible adult should not be distracted while overseeing children, said Andrew Ingram, NSRI Drowning Prevention Manager.
He said watching children when they are swimming is the best way to prevent drowning.
“A person who is drowning is unable to call for help. Which makes it obvious that if you are not watching children while they are swimming, you will not know that they are in difficulty, and may be drowning,” Ingram said.
He said the NSRI has created a “SWIMMING MONITOR” ID tag which could be printed and used by a designated swimming monitor.
The tag should be passed to another responsible adult after half an hour to make sure that there was no lapse of concentration from the person on “ON DUTY”.
Where beaches are open we appeal to bathers to go to beaches protected by lifeguards and only swim where and when lifeguards are on duty and in between their flags.
Ingram reminded bathers that where beaches are open they should only go to those where lifeguards are on duty and to swim between their flags.
