Baltimore will secure all playground equipment as people ignore coronavirus guidelines

Baltimore will move to secure all playground and exercise equipment in city-operated parks in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Families have continued to use swings and slides, despite warnings from health officials to adhere to social distancing guidelines. The Recreation and Parks Department last month removed basketball hoops and tennis nets for the same reason.

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7:44 PM, Thursday, April 2, 2020 -- Wearing a mask and gloves, laundromat attendant Kim Jett cleans the doors of industrial clothes dryers at Patapsco Village Shopping Center. (Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun)

“After seeing people use this equipment, despite the need to practice social distancing while in public, I asked Executive Director Reginald Moore to secure these locations,” Democratic Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young said Monday in a statement. “Our staff will continue to make every effort to ensure residents can stay fit and active.”

The city operates more than 145 playgrounds.

ALLOW ME TO REITERATE MY FRUSTRATION WITH THE LACK OF SOCIAL DISTANCING AND VIOLATION OF PARK RULES: This is the scene...
Posted by Councilman Eric T. Costello on Monday, April 6, 2020

There are more than 870 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Baltimore, and 26 people have died from the virus.

Originally Published: Apr 13, 2020 at 11:10 am