CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The decision wasn’t easy but Kanawha County Schools Lead Nurse Brenda Isaac said it was a necessary one by the state’s largest school district to close all recreational facilities due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The school district made the decision public in a tweet on Monday evening saying, “Due to reports of groups congregating, all recreational facilities and spaces on any Kanawha County Schools property will now be closed.”
Isaac appeared on Tuesday’s 580-LIVE on MetroNews affiliate 580-WCHS to discuss the “heartbreaking decision” because of the children.
Brenda Isaac
“I love to see kids outside playing. I love to see them on the equipment, climbing and swinging but right now it’s just not safe and it’s too dangerous. We can’t be out there cleaning the equipment between every child and we can’t make them keep that social distancing of six feet apart,” she said.
“We don’t want these kids taking something back and infecting a parent, a grandparent, and even themselves because there have been children to get sick with the COVID-19.”
She said once again the school district is asking for self-policing on these rules that include playgrounds, tracks, fields, and all equipment on school properties.
Isaac encouraged people to get out but practice the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines.
“Your kids need to be outside,” she said. “You’re going to have to take walks with them, they can run, they can play, they can walk the dog. But everybody is going to have to be educated to keep that distance, to keep that six feet.”
Kanawha County Schools joins the long list of groups closing down parks and playgrounds due to the virus. Cabell County Schools, Kanawha County, City of Charleston, Putnam County, City of Hurricane, and the City of Huntington have already done so.
“This is new and it’s different,” Issac said about the virus. “We still don’t know everything about it but we do know that if we can maintain this social distancing if we can apart from people that it does break a cycle and the cases would decrease.”
Gov. Jim Justice announced recently that schools will be closed until April 20.
