Recent advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on visiting and using playgrounds.

Staying physically active is one of the best ways to keep your mind and body healthy. In many areas, people can visit parks, trails, and open spaces to relieve stress, get some fresh air, and stay active. Schools and Kindergartens provide playground equipment to promote healthy development and physical fitness among their students.

Playground operators have always had a duty of care to the users of their facilities but the coronavirus pandemic has added a new layer of responsibility. There should be a source of hand sanitizer provided at each playground, and users should be encouraged to sanitize their hands before and after using the playground equipment. Hand sanitizer from the same source can be used by the playground operator to wipe down the contact surfaces regularly to help control the spread of infection.

Schoolscapes has a range of secure hand sanitizer stations that can be installed in playgrounds and a further range of portable sink units that can be used indoors to increase the capacity of hand washing facilities.

Here is the CDC’s guide for playground users:

Carefully consider use of playgrounds, and help children follow guidelines.

In communities where there is ongoing spread of COVID-19, playgrounds can be hard to keep safe because:

• They are often crowded and could make social distancing difficult.
• It can be difficult to keep surfaces clean and disinfected.
• SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can spread when children touch contaminated surfaces, and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth.

If you choose to visit a playground:

Maintain a distance of at least 6 feet away from people you don’t live with.

Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

Adults and older children who can safely use hand sanitizer: Use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol and rub hands together until dry, if soap and water are not readily available. Editor’s note: playground hand sanitizing stations are available from Schoolscapes.

Wear a cloth face covering if you can. Cloth face coverings should not be placed on:

Children under 2 years old.

Anyone who has trouble breathing.

Anyone who is unconscious, can’t move, or is otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance.