CLEVELAND — Public playgrounds across the state of Ohio can reopen, per orders from state officials.
Several cities in Northeast Ohio are opting to take the tape down and let families back in, however, some cities are choosing to wait until a safer time.
In Akron, city officials said public playgrounds will reopen Wednesday, however, they are urging parents to take extra precautions.
"We do our level best to clean the equipment but we are not able to clean them frequently," said James Hardy. "As a parent myself, I want parents to know that that you're using the city playground equipment at your own risk."
Hardy works as the Deputy Mayor for Akron's Integrated Development.
He recommended parents bring their own disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer.
Hardy said to keep the playgrounds open, citizens must take on a level of responsibility while enjoying the public spaces.
"If we're not able to, if we see there is a spike in cases, if we see that there is a real threat or issue in relationships to the playgrounds or other things we're going to have to reevaluate the decision to reopen and we don't want to have to do that," he said. So it's really going to have to be incumbent on all of us to make sure we're using these things like playgrounds in a responsible way."
Health officials are still reminding families to socially distance themselves from others while at the playground and to wear a mask when possible.
