Governor Newsom reverses decision to ban playgrounds after fierce backlash

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Playgrounds in San Diego County have reopened!

The revision to the restrictions of the regional stay-at-home order come a day after County Supervisor Jim Desmond made a motion to not enforce the state’s ban on playgrounds.

Desmond explained that his motion “was that we just don’t enforce the closures, that was it. Just not enforce the closures by county staff. The sheriff still could have done that. But my motion was, as county staff we don’t go out and enforce the closures. If a kid wants to go down a slide, or play on a swing set or something like that, let them play. They need that outdoor activity. They’re not going to schools, they’re not having the socialization they have had in the past. Let the playgrounds be open, and let some common sense reign in.”

Supervisors Nathan Fletcher, Greg Cox, and Dianne Jacob all voted against Desmond’s motion on Monday.

Regarding Governor Newsom’s revision of the restrictions, Desmond said, “apparently common sense broke through up in Sacramento.”

Supervisor Fletcher and his wife, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, are also celebrating Newsom’s decision to allow playgrounds to open. Fletcher thanked Governor Newsom for “making this important adjustment to help our kids.”

Assemblywoman Gonzalez also took to Twitter to thank Governor Newsom and Dr. Ghaly “for listening.”

Supervisor Desmond has been advocating for local control of our reopening process throughout the pandemic, while Supervisor Fletcher has always sided with the state government, and routinely voting against expedited reopening plans.

Who do you think should get credit for Newsom’s decision to allow playgrounds to reopen? Let us know by commenting on our Facebook post here.