Coronavirus Reopening: Jersey City To Let People Back Into 5 Parks Starting Monday
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - Jersey City will begin reopening five city parks on Monday, taking a first step toward reopening after the coronavirus pandemic shut down public gathering spaces, businesses and schools.
Among the locations with limited access from dawn until dusk will be Enos Jones Park, Berry Lane Park, Audubon Park, Leonard Gordon Park and Pershing Field.
The move on April 27 will be followed by more park reopening in mid-May.
Although open to people for walking and jogging while observing social distancing and wearing masks, city parks workers will be on-site to watch for overcrowding and prohibited activities such as organized sports. The city is also asking people to wear gloves while in the parks.
"We closed the parks early on to keep people safe, which helped slow the spread of the virus," said Mayor Steven Fulop. "After nearly two months of quarantine, there's also a mental and physical health aspect that needs to be considered, and we know we can't ask our residents, who rely on parks for outdoor access, to stay inside indefinitely."
Playground equipment, dog runs, basketball hoops, rest rooms and recreational equipment will remain closed.
"We believe now is an appropriate time to responsibly provide residents with that public health outlet in a controlled setting, especially as the weather warms," said Fulop.
As of Saturday, there were 105,523 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state and a total of 5,863 coronavirus-related deaths.
