Mayor amends emergency order to include Columbus public parks amid coronavirus pandemic
Visit Flat Rock Park in north Columbus on a weekday evening and parking spaces won’t be easy to find. One group of college-aged individuals parked in a sand lot, pulled a soccer ball from their SUV and began kicking it around. Others opted to run along the park’s gravel roads or bike along the Columbus Fall Line Trace.
COVID-19 scares have not swayed heavy crowds from visiting Columbus’ public parks. Muscogee County had four cases as of 7 p.m. Thursday, while neighboring Russell County, Alabama, had one case. Lee County, Alabama, had 45 cases, while Troup County, Georgia, had seven.
Holli Browder, director of Columbus Parks and Recreation, which oversees parks such as Flat Rock, Lakebottom and Cooper Creek Park, said the department is following the guidelines laid out by the City of Columbus.
“We’re following the lead from the mayor and what has been sent out about social distancing,” Browder said. “Just trying to make sure that people are staying sit feet apart from one another. That people don’t get in groups of larger than 10.”
The declaration of local emergency enacted by Columbus mayor Skip Henderson on March 20 contains no language that orders residents to stay in their homes or be inside their homes after a certain hour.
The declaration ordered no public or private gatherings of more than 10 people anywhere in the city to limit the possible spread of COVID-19.
Friday morning, Henderson issued an amendment to the declaration that states outdoor areas of city parks and restrooms can remain open as long as “six foot social distancing is practiced.”
All other facilities and recreational equipment located within the parks are off limits until April 6, including but not limited to tennis courts, basketball courts, volley ball courts, exercise stations, pavilions and playground equipment.
Browder said Thursday that she has not heard whether Georgia Department of Public Health will start regulating anything dealing with public parks.
According to the March 20 order, indoor and outdoor gatherings where 10 or more people would be brought into a single room or single confined space are prohibited, including:
- Auditoriums
- Stadiums (indoor or outdoor)
- Tent areas
- Event centers
- Music venues
- Meeting halls
- Conference centers
- Large cafeterias
- Any other confined indoor or outdoor space
Prohibited gatherings do not include the following, so long as persons in attendance are not within six feet of each other for extended periods:
- Spaces where people are in transit or waiting for transit such as airports, bus stations or terminals
- Office or manufacturing space
- Child care facilities
- Residential buildings
- Any type of temporary sheltering or housing
- Grocery stores or pharmacies
- Hospitals or medical facilities
This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 10:42 AM.
