DCC: playground equipment ‘must not be used’

PLAYGROUND equipment “must not be used” during the four week lockdown to fight the spread of Covid19, the Dunedin City Council (DCC) has urged.

Council parks and cemetery manager Scott MacLean said while it would not be possible to “physically” close most playgrounds, people could only use the green space for walking.

Sports fields would also be closed for games and he said although reserves would remain open, they should be used by people only to pass through and “enjoy open space”.

The University of Otago preventive and social medicine chairwoman Prof Jennie Connor agreed with the measures and said there could be a possibility of spreading Covid19 if children continued to play on the same equipment, even at different times.

She advised families to stay away from public spaces where people had usually congregated.

“If families use playground equipment, then other families will assume it is OK to use it and there is likely to be mixing.

“Also, there may be distress in the families where children are not allowed to go.”

Prof Connor said the rules were important to ensure noone mixed with people outside of their household.

“With respect to other outdoor activity . . . walks and play outdoors would be OK in places where there is noone else.”

The DCC would suspend nonessential maintenance of parks and reserves while the country was at alert Level 4, including the mowing of grass.

It would continue rubbish collection from reserves and emergency work would be carried out if needed.