Mayor Tom Karnes has closed all city parks in Lincoln Park until further notice.
The closures, which were announced May 1, were recommended by the city’s emergency operations committee after numerous complaints of people gathering in the parks and not practicing social distancing.
For the past several weeks, the city has been trying to discourage gatherings in the park. Members of the public continue to congregate in the parks, despite the city’s policy.
Karnes said cases of COVID-19 in Lincoln Park have been steadily increasing, the News Herald reports, while those in neighboring communities have been rising more slowly. The mayor had hoped to avoid shutting down the parks altogether.
“It is with a heavy heart that the city has to close our parks,” Karnes told the News Herald. “Unfortunately, our experience with COVID-19 is different from our neighbors. While they are seeing their cases flatten out, ours are still growing."
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