COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for Divers

15 Safety Guidelines for Reducing Disease Transmission When Diving

To reduce the risk of disease transmission, Aquatic Adventures has adopted the following practices based upon recommendations from the Divers Alter Network (DAN), the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) and the CDC. By diving with Aquatic Adventures, you agree to follow these guidelines as means of helping us protect our customers and staff.

Do not come to a dive site if you are sick, have a fever or have any symptoms associated with coronavirus or any other communicable disease.
Avoid touching anyone else’s equipment. Use hand sanitizer before boarding a boat or touching your equipment. Reapply hand sanitizer regularly, but especially after coughing, sneezing, using the restroom or exiting the water.
If you have not been vaccinated for COVID-19, wear a medical mask at a dive site or on a boat whenever you are out of the water. If you do not have a medical mask on, have your scuba mask on and your regulator in your mouth. If this is not feasible, such as when donning a dry suit, attempt to disance yourself from other divers.
Don your exposure suit on the dock if it is cool out before boarding a boat. Bring enough water with you to avoid overheating during the drive to the dive site.
Use your own mask and snorkel. Aquatic Adventures does not rent these items, and we will not take responsibility for disinfecting these items.
Do not share defog outside of your household. Each diver should have their own defog to avoid the risk of disease transmission. Rinse your mask before entering the water by using bottled water or water from another source you know has not been compromised.
Do not spit into your masks. Disease may be spread this way, and it is more effective to use defog.
All regulators and BCDs used by students during a training class is disinfected and stored in sealed containers. Our staff members will distribute these items at the dive site or at the dive center. Once you take possession of these items, you are assuming responsibility for keeping these items disinfected while you are using them.
Avoid touching your tank valve opening or the regulator inlet prior to attaching your regulator to prevent contamination between the tank and regulator.
Test your alternate air source by pressing the purge button rather than by breathing from the second stage. This is to protect anyone who may need to use your alternate in an out-of-air emergency. Use extra vigilance in avoiding an out-of-air situation as breathing from someone else’s air source could pose a health risk to you.
Use visual buddy checks with self-demonstration and verbal confirmation whenever feasible. Avoid touching your buddy or your buddy’s equipment.
Because there is a risk of recontamination when a mouthpiece is changed, do not change the mouthpiece on a disinfected regulator. If a mouthpiece goes bad during training, ask your instructor for a new disinfected regulator. If your mouthpiece must be changed, disinfect your regulator again before using it.
Use the low-pressure inflator on your BCD rather than the oral inflator whenever possible. Do not put your mouth on your BCD inflator to test it.
Keep your regulator in your mouth immediately prior to, during and immediately after the dive to avoid disease transmission.
Respect distancing guidelines whenever possible.

Please note that failure to follow these practices, just as failing to follow any other safe diving practice, could result in permanent expulsion from diving with Aquatic Adventures. If you are removed from a class or charter due to behavior that compromises someone else’s safety, no refunds of any fees will be granted.

Dive safely.

Aquatic Adventures Management