Please note: As we continue to learn more about COVID-19, the information in this article may change. You can find our most up-to-date information about coronavirus here.
My neighborhood playground has been empty. Is there a risk of infection from COVID-19?
This is a great question. The risk of contracting the virus is actually more related to the other people in and around the playground than the equipment itself. In general, for this virus, there’s no place better to be than wide open spaces because if there’s any virus around it dissipates very quickly.
But, if you’re at the playground with eight other families and everybody’s running into each other and crawling all over each other, that’s not a great situation. So pay attention more to the surrounding environment. If a child has been on the playground equipment and has coughed and there’s mucus everywhere, then that’s not going to be a good situation.
Most importantly, regardless of your activities, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands! And also don’t forget that you should not be going out or around others if you are sick.
Get more tips from Dr. Wiedermann on this episode of Pandemic Parenting, a Facebook Live event featuring Barbara Harrison.
Bernhard Wiedermann, MD, MA, is a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases. His research and clinical interests include: general pediatric infections such as Lyme disease, unexplained and recurrent fevers, malaria and other tropical diseases, bone and joint infections, medical education, distance learning and telemedicine and evidence-based medicine.
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