Elrich capitulated — MoCo going to Phase 1 on Monday

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is the prohibition against playgrounds in print? I don’t see that anywhere.

It’s on here. It’s hard to find, so do a find for “playgrounds.”

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OEMHS/COVID19-Closures.html

It’s honestly ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous? As soon as they open kids will flick to them and then I’ll be the mean parent Not letting my kids on. It’s not safe.

Nothing is safe. But the wheels are off now. There were mass gatherings all over the US. Just open all the outdoor stuff and be done with it.

[Anonymous]

I would go to a playground. If you are too scared, stay home and tell your kids you DONT think it’s safe.

Other kids can use home trampolines. Mine can’t. I explain that different families weigh risks differently. My three year old is sad but he gets it. Don’t keep my kids off playgrounds because of your precious snow flake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is the prohibition against playgrounds in print? I don’t see that anywhere.

It’s on here. It’s hard to find, so do a find for “playgrounds.”

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OEMHS/COVID19-Closures.html

It’s honestly ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous? As soon as they open kids will flick to them and then I’ll be the mean parent Not letting my kids on. It’s not safe.

You'll be in good company, PP. I won't be letting my kids on the playground either. Let someone else's kid go first, I'll hold off on experimenting on mine until I see the actual numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is the prohibition against playgrounds in print? I don’t see that anywhere.

It’s on here. It’s hard to find, so do a find for “playgrounds.”

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OEMHS/COVID19-Closures.html

It’s honestly ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous? As soon as they open kids will flick to them and then I’ll be the mean parent Not letting my kids on. It’s not safe.

You'll be in good company, PP. I won't be letting my kids on the playground either. Let someone else's kid go first, I'll hold off on experimenting on mine until I see the actual numbers.

There are numbers out there from states who opened this stuff weeks ago. Check it out and report back.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind playground closures only apply to public (i.e., city or county) playgrounds, not neighborhood playgrounds maintained by homeowners associations. With the stay-at-home paragraph of the county executive order lifted, I don't think there's anything in place that closes HOA playgrounds.

I know HOAs have tried to close their playgrounds, but I doubt many of done so properly. Common areas are, in effect, jointly owned by homeowners in an HOA. The HOA Board could adopt a rule closing the playgrounds, but that would be subject to the HOA's procedures for adopting new community codes. That usually includes providing prior notice to homeowners before a rule is adopted. I highly doubt any of them are doing that.

[Anonymous]

And for what it's worth, I absolutely intend to bring my kids to playgrounds. I just won't go to a playground where there are any other kids. That hasn't proven difficult in the past, and I suspect it will be even easier now.

[Anonymous]

I'm curious to hear about playgrounds. How many HOAs have explicitly addressed playgrounds? Did they send anything out to owners, or just post signs? What did they say?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is the prohibition against playgrounds in print? I don’t see that anywhere.

It’s on here. It’s hard to find, so do a find for “playgrounds.”

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OEMHS/COVID19-Closures.html

It’s honestly ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous? As soon as they open kids will flick to them and then I’ll be the mean parent Not letting my kids on. It’s not safe.

You'll be in good company, PP. I won't be letting my kids on the playground either. Let someone else's kid go first, I'll hold off on experimenting on mine until I see the actual numbers.

There are numbers out there from states who opened this stuff weeks ago. Check it out and report back.

Yeah, they haven’t seen an uptick in cases or deaths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is the prohibition against playgrounds in print? I don’t see that anywhere.

It’s on here. It’s hard to find, so do a find for “playgrounds.”

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OEMHS/COVID19-Closures.html

It’s honestly ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous? As soon as they open kids will flick to them and then I’ll be the mean parent Not letting my kids on. It’s not safe.

- no evidence surface transmission
- no evidence outdoor transmission
- negligible evidence kids transmitting

But keep on ruining summer for your little ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is the prohibition against playgrounds in print? I don’t see that anywhere.

It’s on here. It’s hard to find, so do a find for “playgrounds.”

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OEMHS/COVID19-Closures.html

It’s honestly ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous? As soon as they open kids will flick to them and then I’ll be the mean parent Not letting my kids on. It’s not safe.

- no evidence surface transmission
- no evidence outdoor transmission
- negligible evidence kids transmitting

But keep on ruining summer for your little ones.

Yep. I haven’t heard of one outbreak sourced to a playground.

[Anonymous]

My concern with Elrich is that other counties in MD opened their playgrounds almost 3 weeks ago, when MD went to Phase 1a. MoCo this week opened up basically the equivalent of MD Phase 1b, _except_ playgrounds.

Either playgrounds are as safe as other items opened in 1a, or they're not. I don't care which phase they're in -- the experts can figure that out -- but shouldn't which phase they're in be consistent across MD? MoCo is making their own special rules for no reason.

We were in Washington County 2 weeks ago and my kids had huge fun finally getting to play on a playground. There were signs about keeping distance, and that was easy as there were only 2 other kids on the playground.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My concern with Elrich is that other counties in MD opened their playgrounds almost 3 weeks ago, when MD went to Phase 1a. MoCo this week opened up basically the equivalent of MD Phase 1b, _except_ playgrounds.

Either playgrounds are as safe as other items opened in 1a, or they're not. I don't care which phase they're in -- the experts can figure that out -- but shouldn't which phase they're in be consistent across MD? MoCo is making their own special rules for no reason.

We were in Washington County 2 weeks ago and my kids had huge fun finally getting to play on a playground. There were signs about keeping distance, and that was easy as there were only 2 other kids on the playground.

That’s my point. Why is Elrich arbitrarily deciding that outdoor restaurant dining is fine, but playgrounds aren’t?

Same with pools — for Hogan, they’re a Phase 1B activity. For MoCo, it’s Phase 2. Why?

I actually contacted the MoCo Public Information Officer and asked her about playgrounds. Her reply was:

“Playgrounds promote close contact between children and families and are therefore not viewed as low risk, but rather as moderate risk activities. Hence, they will likely be included in Montgomery County’s Phase II. Early in the pandemic, before they were closed, they were a constant source of gathering violations.“

I liked her use of passive voice, as though everyone views them as moderate risk. Hogan and his team doesn’t; MoCo does. I also like how she said they were a source of gathering violations, not necessarily infections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
That’s my point. Why is Elrich arbitrarily deciding that outdoor restaurant dining is fine, but playgrounds aren’t?

Same with pools — for Hogan, they’re a Phase 1B activity. For MoCo, it’s Phase 2. Why?

I actually contacted the MoCo Public Information Officer and asked her about playgrounds. Her reply was:

“Playgrounds promote close contact between children and families and are therefore not viewed as low risk, but rather as moderate risk activities. Hence, they will likely be included in Montgomery County’s Phase II. Early in the pandemic, before they were closed, they were a constant source of gathering violations.“

I liked her use of passive voice, as though everyone views them as moderate risk. Hogan and his team doesn’t; MoCo does. I also like how she said they were a source of gathering violations, not necessarily infections.

It's infuriating, isn't it? Elrich claims his decisions are based on science. Surely the state-wide list of what falls into each phase was developed that way as well -- so why not just follow those guidelines. It's not like playgrounds by design are inherently more dangerous in MoCo vs Wicomico County.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
That’s my point. Why is Elrich arbitrarily deciding that outdoor restaurant dining is fine, but playgrounds aren’t?

Same with pools — for Hogan, they’re a Phase 1B activity. For MoCo, it’s Phase 2. Why?

I actually contacted the MoCo Public Information Officer and asked her about playgrounds. Her reply was:

“Playgrounds promote close contact between children and families and are therefore not viewed as low risk, but rather as moderate risk activities. Hence, they will likely be included in Montgomery County’s Phase II. Early in the pandemic, before they were closed, they were a constant source of gathering violations.“

I liked her use of passive voice, as though everyone views them as moderate risk. Hogan and his team doesn’t; MoCo does. I also like how she said they were a source of gathering violations, not necessarily infections.

It's infuriating, isn't it? Elrich claims his decisions are based on science. Surely the state-wide list of what falls into each phase was developed that way as well -- so why not just follow those guidelines. It's not like playgrounds by design are inherently more dangerous in MoCo vs Wicomico County.

Exactly. Same with pools. Extremely frustrating, especially as school ends and the weather gets warmer.