Summer’s set to arrive next month, but Atlanta pools may remain closed.

“Currently, there are no plans to open recreation facilities—including pools, basketball courts or playgrounds—in the immediate future,” said Michael Smith, spokesman for Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Gov. Brian Kemp ordered all public swimming pools, including subdivision, apartment, condominium, fitness center, county, municipal and waterpark pools, to close through May 13, but local governments may elect to not reopen them when that deadline passes.

Bottoms created an advisory council to consider plans for reopening the city. Their suggestions are due May 15.

The Piedmont Park Conservancy, which operates the Piedmont Park pool, said they are waiting on guidance from the city regarding reopening.

“As with most things these days, decisions are in flux,” Conservancy spokeswoman Amy Han Risher said.

The pool typically opens during Memorial Day weekend, but if it opens then or later in the summer, Risher said they will adjust its allowed capacity to follow public health recommendations, such as social distancing.

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Sonny Bharadia, who spent more than two decades behind bars for a 2001 crime he did not commit, is suing the small town of Thunderbolt and the two law enforcement officers who handled his case. (Courtesy of Georgia Innocence Project)

Credit: Georgia Innocence Project

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