SANTA MONICA—Starting Friday, October 9, up to a dozen of the children’s parks in the Santa Monica area will be reopening, following months of closures during the Coronavirus pandemic, which began earlier this year.
According to the County of Los Angeles, the health orders put out have been cleared by county officials, who are in charge of matters, pertaining to public health, and where residents are allowed to be during a health crisis such as the current pandemic.
In the case of outdoor playgrounds, they have been deemed safe until further notice unless the county feels the pandemic is getting worse, and public areas have to be shut down, again, which is possible, if cases for the virus go up.
Officials in Santa Monica have done their due diligence to inspect the playgrounds, and their equipment, washing the grounds and making sure equipment is replaced if need be. They will also be posting signs, which lay out particular health restrictions for visitors.
The following playgrounds are set to reopen on Friday, as scheduled:
Airport Park, Glover Park, Douglas Park, Gandara Park, Joslyn Park, Marine Park, Memorial Park, North Beach Playground (slide closed), Reed Park, South Beach Universally Accessible Playground, Tongva Park and Virginia Avenue Park.
Meanwhile, there are still a handful of parks that will remain closed, for the time being, as LA county continues further maintenance for them. Additionally, these locations may not have restrooms near the playground area:
Annenberg Community Beach House Playground, Euclid Park, Ishihara Park, Ocean Park Beach Playground and Ozone Park.
Sites, which are not designated as playgrounds or necessarily parks, will also remain closed, such as Muscle Beach, the famous outdoor exercise area in Venice.
The county health order expects visitors over the age of two years old to wear masks, while all children must have adult supervision.
As with any other public location, social distancing will be required on these playgrounds, and officials are also recommending visitors to wash their hands before and after using any playground equipment.
