In an attempt to highlight the need for social distancing, the City of Calgary is closing public playgrounds, effective immediately..“Unfortunately, not all city park users respect the need for social distancing during our state of local emergency,” said a press release on March 23..“With playgrounds becoming a community gathering place, social distancing is critical as all citizens – regardless of their age – are at risk to transmit COVID-19.”.The city has added its self to a growing list of municipalities who are implementing the measure as a means to stop the spread of the virus..Rocky View Public Schools announced Sunday that they would restrict access to all playgrounds on school property and B.C. restricted access last week..“We’ve made the very difficult decision to close down playgrounds as it’s just not healthy for anyone at this time to keep them open,” said Calgary Emergency Management Agency Chief Tom Sampson..“We understand the impact this move has on kids and families. It’s hard to remove a trusted space for kids to play right now in the face of schools and daycares closing. But we need to make these sacrifices in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the coming weeks.”.City-owned parks, however, will remain open to the public..“Calgary has 8,000 hectares of parks spaces, including a variety of natural areas and nearly 1,000 km of pathways,” according to the press release..“To minimize the spread of germs, park users are asked to stay at least six feet apart and avoid touching equipment with hard surfaces as they are not disinfected regularly. Use of City park amenities is done at one’s own risk.”.The City of Calgary, in conjunction with the province of Alberta, requests that residents make the effort to maintain social distancing during this time to help prevent the spread of COVID-19..The cities of Vancouver, Richmond and Port Coquitlam in B.C. have closed in the last few days..Governments are trying to balance personal freedoms with public health and safety requirements. In situations where a balance between personal freedom and public health requirements cannot be struck, governments have been opting to implement further restrictions on the public as a whole..Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean is a Senior Reporter with Western Standard.dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter @Mitchell_AB
