by Sylene Argent
Late last week, the Town of Essex put up swings and removed barriers around playgrounds to allow youth an opportunity to enjoy some summer fun in the sun.
The reopening of the local playgrounds was part of the Province of Ontario allowing the Windsor-Essex region to enter Stage 3 of the COVID-19 reopening plan.
The Windsor-Essex Region was the last in the province to enter Stage 3, largely because of an increase in positive cases from the ag-sector.
Windsor-Essex was allowed to move into Stage 3 on Wednesday, August 12. The decision was based on positive local trends of key public health indicators, including lower transmission of COVID-19, ongoing hospital capacity, public health capacity to conduct rapid case and contact management, and a significant increase in testing, a new release on Ontario Newsroom noted.
Though the region was able to finally enter Stage 3, residents were encouraged to continue to follow public health and safety guidelines, which includes social distancing.
In preparing to reopen playgrounds, staff in the Town of Essex’s Community Service’s Department inspected and cleaned equipment, and also installed the swings. Playgrounds will not be sanitized after reopening and users should continue to follow physical distancing requirements, a press release from the Town of Essex on the Stage 3 reopening noted.
Doug Sweet, Director of Community Services/Deputy CAO, said staff members within his department reported that the reopening went very well and all playgrounds across the municipality are now open for use. His department wants to remind users to continue to maintain social distances and to follow guidelines to ensure safety protocols are met, while using playground facilities.