City of London closes playgrounds in response to COVID-19

The City of London is closing down all of their playgrounds and other play structures to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"After carefully monitoring the use of public playgrounds over the weekend,and in keeping with the Premier's direction to close all non-essential businesses, the City is moving to close all of its outside play structures," a statement said.

The closures include all city-ownedplaygrounds, skate parks and multi-use courts.

During the weekend, the city said playgrounds would remain open, but they urged children who played on them to keep a safe distance away from each other.

"Site visits by City officials as well as concerns raised by the public have indicated that many of these precautions were not being followed, especially physical distance," the statement released Monday afternoon said.

The city says parks and open spaces will remain open for now, but they're asking anyone who uses these spaces to follow precautions indicated by the Middlesex-London Health Unit, which include:

• Staying six feet away from each other
• Avoiding all non-essential gatherings of any size
• Staying home from work and other activities if you are sick
• Self-isolatingif you have travelled outside of Canada
• Washing your hands with soap and water frequently (for at least 20 seconds
• Covering coughs and sneezes with your sleeve or cough and sleeve into your elbow
• Cleaning and disinfect high touch areas frequently.

City-ownedsports fields,golfcourses and community gardens will remain closed until further notice.