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Kornelija Tiesnesytė, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports, pointed out at a press conference organized by the Government that, although the summer is beginning and most will be attracted to the bodies of water, not only the pleasures but also the dangers await them .
K. Tiesnesytė drew the attention of children and adults to the need to behave responsibly in bodies of water, assess the bottom of the body of water, avoid unnecessary jumps into the water, adults should not leave children alone near water.
“Painful statistics from several years show that we have to talk about it, remember adults and children,” said K. Tiesnesytė.
To avoid drowning, the government has been running a project for 10 years to train the country’s second-grade children to swim. This, of course, requires the proper infrastructure. According to the Vice Minister, only half of the municipalities currently have swimming pools, but the number is changing.
“The construction of large pools has started and is taking place in the last decade. Without a doubt there will only be many of them, 3 more pools will open this year,” said K. Tiesnesytė.
The president of the Lithuanian Swimming Federation, Emilis Vaitkaitis, compared the statistics of people drowned last year with the number of people who died of coronavirus. 71 people died in COVID-19 in Lithuania, and last year almost twice drowned in bodies of water: 137.
According to E. Vaitkaitis, a decade ago there were even more divers, declining drowning statistics were also determined by the Government’s swimming training project.
“But the number is not what would satisfy us,” said E. Vaitkaitis.
He said that the lessons learned during the coronavirus pandemic could help combat drowning. According to E. Vaitkaitis, proper identification of each case helped prevent the spread of the disease.
“I think we could learn that in the same drowning,” said E. Vaitkaitis.
According to the head of the Swimming Federation, a map should be created to show every drowning that took place that year. According to him, this is done in Denmark, where many people drowned in marinas.
E. Vaitkaitis noted that in many cases people drowned not in bathing places, but in ponds and ponds.
“It is possible to prevent such cases by introducing some requirements for pond owners. If no one is rescuing, perhaps [reikia] pond and fill it, ”said E. Vaitkaitis.
He argued that the easiest way to avoid drowning was to be able to swim.
“In the case of this pandemic, I could make an analogy that there is a lifetime vaccine or a life jacket,” said the head of the swimming federation.
Audrius Kalvėnas, a former winner of the Lithuanian underwater swimming championships, shares his painful experience by the water with Lithuanian children.
The trauma of a man in the water dramatically changed his life: A. Kalvėnas found himself in a wheelchair. According to him, irresponsible behavior in the water could end in disaster.
“It is very important to behave safely, carefully and be aware of the water. Because any accidental joke, change, attempt to drown in the water <...> it can lead to disasters, ”said A. Kalvėnas.
Here are some key rules when you stay in or near water:
1. Do not bathe alone, do not leave children unattended;
2. Swim only in designated areas and follow the rules of safe conduct, the instructions in the restroom areas;
3. Avoid jumping on the head;
4. Wear life jackets;
5. At sea to pay attention to warning signs, flags;
6. Do not consume intoxicating drinks and other substances that are harmful to health;
7. Demonstrate your physical abilities in sports competitions, but not in lakes, rivers or the sea;
8. In the event of an accident, call for help, call tel.112 and provide drowning assistance only if you are aware of rescue operations.
Lithuanian champion and record holder, member of the Lithuanian Olympic team, vice world and European champion, world champion of university students, swimmer Giedrius Titenis contributes to the call to behave safely in the water. “I only show my skills in the water in swimming competitions. I invite you to protect each other, “says G. Titenis.
A memorandum with all the recommendations and rules on how children and adults should behave safely in the water, without risking health and life, was sent to schools last week.
The state has been implementing the swimming training program since 2009. Then 1,071 children attended.
In the 2019-2020 school year, 8,500 second graders participated in the project “I am learning to swim and behave safely in the water.” “Our goal is that at least 80 percent. The country’s second graders would have learned to swim,” says Deputy Minister K. Tiesnesytė.
Swimming lessons take place in 34 national pools, with more than 442 thousand. from the Lithuanian Center for Non-Formal Student Education and the Sports Support Fund.
Since 2010, 12 pools have been installed and are already operating only with state funds. The state contributes annually to the establishment of 2-3 basins in the municipalities. The last pools have already been built and submitted for evaluation in Kretinga and Druskininkai, as well as in Tauragė, where the pool was installed at the expense of the municipality itself.
According to data from the Department of Fire Protection and Rescue, in 2019. June August 57 people drowned in Lithuania, including 8 children. The largest number of drowning people, 11, were in Vilnius and Kaunas counties. Mostly drowned in rivers, ponds, the sea. The main causes of these disasters are careless behavior in water and alcohol.
The World Health Organization claims that drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional death worldwide. This represents 7% of all deaths due to various injuries. About 320,000 people are estimated to drown worldwide each year.
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