Following the outcry from parents and some legislators, California has changed the trend of closing playgrounds to allow for an increase in corona virus cases. According to an updated state guideline released Wednesday morning, “playgrounds may be open to facilitate personal health and well-being lost through outdoor exercise” – a face from previously announced rules, which said critical care services would be shut down due to COVID-19. Officials with the California Department of Public Health did not immediately comment on the reasons behind the change. Although many aspects of California’s latest regional shelter order have been on fire since the government’s Gavin Newsom published it last week, the closure of playgrounds has provoked particular setbacks – parents have expressed outrage and confusion as to why their children’s playgrounds should be left open when places like malls are open. In a letter to Newsom last week, some California lawmakers noted that low-income people would be hard hit by the rule because many residents do not have backyards or other open spaces to pick up their children. “While we must properly consider the best practices to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19, we must ensure that children across the state are not unjustly deprived of outdoor access and opportunities for play,” the letter was signed by dozens of legislators. “Widespread closure of playgrounds unjustifiably affects children and families.” One of the signatories to the letter – legislator Lorena Gonzalez (de-San Diego) – called the state’s reversal on Wednesday “yes!” “Thank you to all the legislators in the state who joined me in reconsidering the closure of the playground,” he wrote on Twitter. Thank you to all the legislators who joined me in asking the state to reconsider the playground closures. Thank you Dr. Kali for being patient with my argument. Thanks for listening avGavinNewsom! Yes! Playgrounds. https://t.co/MCg73GpCmQ— Lorena Gonzalez (oreLorenaSGonzalez) December 9, 2020 See how the state’s breakthrough goes to the local level. In general, districts are allowed to adopt more restrictive, but more lenient rules than states. Los Angeles County, for example, closed outdoor public playgrounds before state order, slowly unprecedented rise in corona virus cases as part of its own regulation. Although the county did not publicly link the blasts to playgrounds, authorities previously believed closures were necessary. Barbara Ferrer, LA County Director of Public Health, said health officials “went back and forth for several days” on how to deal with reports of meetings with local parks departments, children playing without masks and difficulty in cleaning playground equipment before the regulations were released. “Playgrounds are, for many, really misunderstood, and [their closure] It creates a lot of hardship for families again, ”he said last week.
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