Community Parks May Reopen!

Quick Bit: What You Need To Know

All visitors to outdoor, publicly accessible playgrounds located in parks, campgrounds, and other publicly accessible locations, over the age of two years must wear a mask. (Caregiver supervision is required at all times to ensure face mask usage and social distancing).
Do not use the playground when different households are unable to maintain a physical distance of 6 feet or when the capacity limit has been reached. No eating or drinking on the playground to ensure face masks are worn at all times. Wash or sanitize hands before and after using the playground.
Limit visit to 30 mins per day when others are present. The elderly and persons with underlying medical conditions should avoid the playground when others are present.

*This guidance provides direction on the usage of outdoor playgrounds and outdoor recreational facilities only. It does not pertain to indoor playgrounds or family entertainment centers.

Outdoor Playgrounds/Recreational Facilities Guidelines Released

In view of the state’s improving coronavirus status, the California Department of Public Health released new “Outdoor Playgrounds and other Outdoor Recreational Facilities” guidelines on Monday. At this point, the coronavirus has not gone away, nor does it appear to be going away anytime soon; in light of this fact, the CDHP is encouraging Californians to adapt the way they live during this period of ongoing risk. Without a doubt, those adaptations include frequent hand washing, wearing a mask when interacting with those outside your family group, and socially distancing.

Certainly, after more than six months of local parks being shuttered, many local children are ready to climb and play outdoors. However, local families are asked to remember that residents have been asked to limit their park visits to 30 minutes or less when others are present and to be mindful of crowd sizes.

Additionally, child care programs, schools, and other programs for children and youth (where children must remain in cohorts) may not use playgrounds during times when they are open to the public. Unless the park allows for the exclusive use of the playground by the program, via a reservation system. If the park is reserved for exclusive use by a group, then the cohorts of children should maintain separation and avoid mixing.

Miwok Park-Elk Grove

From Purple To Red: Sacramento County Covid-19 Public Health Order Update

Per the order of the Sacramento County Public Health Officer that went into effect at 3:00 pm on September 29, 2020:

“On August 28, 2020 the Governor of California unveiled a new system of county monitoring and re-opening of businesses based on a tiered system corresponding to specific indicators of COVID-19 disease burden. According to this new system, Sacramento County was placed in Purple Tier 1 (widespread). Counties are required to remain in an assigned tier for a minimum of three weeks and meet the criteria for the next tier for two consecutive weeks before being able to advance to the next tier.
On September 29, 2020, Sacramento County had an adjusted daily case rate of 6.8 per 100,000 and a positivity rate of 4.6%, which meets the criteria for Red Tier 2 for the second consecutive week.
As a result, SacramentoCounty has been placed into the less restrictive Red Tier 2 (substantial).”

The color-coded system includes Purple (Widespread), Red (Substantial), Orange (Moderate), and Yellow (Minimal). Every county in California is assigned to a tier based on its test positivity and adjusted case rate. At a minimum, counties must remain in a tier for at least 3 weeks before moving forward. Data is reviewed weekly and tiers are updated on Tuesdays. To move forward, a county must meet the next tier’s criteria for two consecutive weeks. If a county’s metrics worsen for two consecutive weeks, it will be assigned a more restrictive tier.

Moving From Purple to Red, Here’s What That Means for Indoor Operations

Now that Sacramento County has moved into Red Tier 2, the following sectors are permitted to open for “INDOOR operations with modifications”:

All retail (maximum 50% capacity)
Critical infrastructure (covid19.ca.gov/essential-workforce)
Gyms and fitness centers (maximum 10% capacity)
Hair salons and barbershops
Movie theaters (maximum 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
Museums, zoos, aquariums (maximum 25% capacity)
Nail salons and physician-ordered electrolysis operations
Personal care services (e.g. body waxing, estheticians)
Places of worship (maximum 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
Professional sports (without live audiences)
Restaurants (maximum 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
- (Sacramento County Recommends: Only members of a household should eat together inside a restaurant)
Shopping centers (e.g. malls, destination centers, swap meets, excluding food courts and common areas) (maximum 50% capacity)

*These sectors must still maintain the basic virus mitigation measures of requiring social distancing, face coverings, and maintaining proper sanitization.