Photos of swimming pool with social distancing screens is genuine

25 January 2022
What was claimed

Photos of a swimming pool with visitors placed between social distancing screens in the water are not real.

Our verdict

This is genuine footage taken at the reopening of a spa in France.

Photos of a swimming pool, shared on Facebook, show swimmers divided by plastic screens during a class. A caption next to the post says: “Please someone tell me this is not real.”

The images are genuine, taken from a French news broadcast recorded in January 2022, reporting on the reopening of a thermal spa. The facility is based in St-Paul-Lès Dax, south-west France.  

The spa's website includes information about Covid-19 prevention measures it has implemented including the use of masks, vaccine passes and social distancing measures.

Image courtesy of verchmarco, licensed under CC BY 2.0

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