Today Bend Park and Recreation District announced it will suspend service at the Bend Senior Center effective at 5pm Friday. Other programs at Juniper Swim & Fitness are also canceled, as they also include many older adult participants—a population known to be more susceptible to serious complications from COVID-19.
In addition, BPRD’s adult and kid Therapeutic Recreation programs are canceled. The suspension goes through at least April 8, when BPRD will re-assess. As of today, 24 people in Oregon have tested positive for COVID-19, including one person in Deschutes County, who remains hospitalized.
“The district is taking unprecedented measures to do what we can to help prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said Don Horton, Executive Director in a press release.
BPRD said it has installed signage in all park restrooms to further encourage patrons to wash their hands and cleaning crews at their indoor facilities are making sure to deep clean fitness equipment at night, and staff wipe down and clean multiple areas of use throughout the day.
As far as BPRD events, the Wally Cup (starting March 13) at the Pavilion and Free Family Fun Night on March 14 are both canceled because of each event’s size. On Wednesday evening, Gov. Kate Brown banned all events with more than 250 people—including church and wedding events—for 30 days. BPRD’s popular after school program, Kids INC. will still run as usual, BPRD stated today. However, BPRD spring break camps and other rec programs in schools will either be moved to non-school locations or be canceled.
For staff members, BPRD has laid out new restrictions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Central Oregon and the state:
- Suspension of out of town travel to meetings or conferences
- Meetings may not exceed 25 participants in a confined space and three feet of space is required for social distancing
- Capacity in the District Office Community Room will be reduced by 50% to ensure social distancing. 40 or fewer participants will be allowed for reservations in the room through April 8.
“These measures are intended to help protect the most vulnerable populations we serve and to safeguard employees as much as possible,” added Horton.
Updates on BPRD related news can be found here: https://www.bendparksandrec.org/covid-19
Stay up-to-date on local emergency information:
https://www.deschutes.org/sheriff/page/emergency-information
And see updated stories, including event cancellations, at our COVID-19 HQ page.
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This article appears in Mar 11-18, 2020.
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