CA Playgrounds Remain Open In Revision Of Stay-At-Home Order

CALIFORNIA —In response to outrage from both parents and a dozen California legislators, on Wednesday the state reversed its closure of playgrounds within regions under the renewed stay-at-home order.

Lawmakers argued in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom last week that lower-income communities would be disproportionately affected by the order as not all families have outdoor space for children to play in.

"It is necessary for the mental and physical health of children to have opportunities to expend their physical energy and play," the letter, signed by 12 lawmakers, stated. "Public playgrounds provide a shared outdoor resource for families without having to travel far, pay entrance feesm or need additional outdoor gear."

The updated stay-at-home order, published Wednesday morning, changed its footing on playgrounds, stating "playgrounds may remain open to facilitate physically distanced personal health and wellness through outdoor exercise," a complete turnabout from the state's original mandate, which would have closed playgrounds for the next three weeks at minimum.

"Thank you to all the legislators who joined me in asking the state to review playground closures," Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) tweeted Wednesday. "And thank you Dr. Ghaly for your patience with my advocacy. Thank you @GavinNewsom for listening! Yay! Playgrounds."

Gonzalez was one of the 12 signers on the effort, which also had support from local supervisors in San Diego.

But some counties, such as Los Angeles County, may opt to keep playgrounds shuttered. LA closed outdoor public playgrounds ahead of the state's order to mitigate the surge in cases across the county.

The reversal is one of a few revisions that have been made in response to an upheaval of criticism levied at Newsom for the tough restrictions woven into the regional stay-at-home order to mitigate a catastrophic surge in coronavirus cases and diminishing intensive care unit capacity across the state.

Another revision was made to the state's mandate on grocery store capacity this week, which was revised from 20 percent to 35 percent after the California Grocers Assn. lobied against the strict capacity cap.

The order was triggered Sunday night for Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions after ICU capacity fell below the 15 percent threshold in both areas.

Given the stark numbers, five Northern California counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and Santa Clara, — banded together and decided to enforce the latest order ahead of a mandate from the state's Department of Public Health, announced by Newsom.

California reported a staggering 30,851 cases on Wednesday, adding to the total of 1,420,558 cases statewide. There have been 20,243 deaths recorded, with 196 reported before noon on Wednesday.

Today, we sent another letter to the Governor urging him to reconsider the full closure of playground structures. The local playground may be the only opportunity for some families to “get outdoors,” as advised for physical & mental health. pic.twitter.com/2FB8Oe1CgQ
— Lorena Gonzalez (@LorenaSGonzalez) December 4, 2020

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