Parks remain closed under Level 3

Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) appealed to residents to comply with the emergency mitigation measures adopted during Level 3 against Covid-19, including the instruction not to use parks.

Member of the mayoral committee for community development Margaret Arnolds said Joburg Zoo, nature reserves and all public parks and corridors along water bodies in the city remained temporarily closed. This included unfenced areas that did not have signposts alerting residents to their closure. Arnolds added that all JCPZ’s facilities may not be accessed for gatherings or for individual exercising.

Emergency and critical services including general operations at the Joburg Zoo, funerals in cemeteries and crematoriums and the removal of uprooted trees and fallen branches have continued unabated.

A core team, which complies with safety protocols, has focused on horticultural services to ensure that flagship parks, key developed parks and main arterial entrances are cut and cleaned.

Arnolds appealed to avid park users to comply with the temporary closure as Joburg remained a hotspot for the virus.

“The concern of the City is the increased trajectory of infections in developed suburbs and the potential for a resurgence in both formal and informal areas,” said Arnolds.

“Unfortunately, some residents are refusing to comply with safety protocols and are compromising the health of others by gathering in public spaces or visiting parks and nature reserves.”

Arnolds said the implications of an increase in the number of Covid-19 infections would place undue pressure on the City’s health services and its cemeteries and crematoria.

Arnolds encouraged residents to comply by staying at home where possible, keeping spaces clean, adopting safe distancing, wearing a mask and washing hands regularly.

Residents who wish to contact City Parks can visit jhbcityparks.com or @JoburgParksZoo on Twitter or JoburgParks or JohannesburgZoo on Facebook.