March 6, 2020
Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) continues to be in communication with, and following the guidance of, Public Health—Seattle & King County (PHSKC), the City’s Office of Emergency Management, and Washington Department of Health regarding COVID-19.
For information on how to prevent the spread of illness, please see PHSKC’s recommendations here.
SPR Impacts:
- All SPR facilities are open: All SPR facilities, including community centers and pools, are currently open.
- Most SPR programs are continuing as normal, with the exception of Lifelong Recreation programs for seniors and Specialized Programs for people with disabilities. See details below.
- Programs for seniors canceled: All Lifelong Recreation classes, trips, and drop-in programs for seniors are canceled starting Thursday, March 5 through the end of the month. Details here.
- Specialized Programs on brief pause: Specialized Programs for people with disabilities are on a brief pause.
- Some SPR enrichment programs at Seattle Public Schools canceled: Some afterschool and athletic programs run by SPR at Seattle Public School locations are currently canceled. We are exploring relocating programs to community centers, if possible, and we are alerting families of any program impacts.
- Youth basketball games taking place this weekend. Families are encouraged to keep in mind public health recommendations to prevent the spread of illness. Details here.
- Most senior meals programs canceled:
- Lake City Community Center senior meal program: We have paused the congregate meal program and are currently only providing pick-up meals.
- Bitter Lake Community Center senior meal program: Operating as normal on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
- Miller Community Center senior meal program: Canceled.
- Yesler Community Center senior meal program: Canceled.
- Northgate Community Center senior meal program: Canceled
- Garfield Community Center senior meal program: Canceled
- Some SPR events rescheduled: Some SPR events and community meetings are being canceled, rescheduled, or moved to online/phone options. Please check SPR’s social media feeds (listed below) for updates on event and meeting cancelations.
- All SPR parks are open
- Partner organizations: Please see below for information from major partners.These organizations are run independently; questions or concerns about their operations should be addressed directly to them.
Stay informed:
Please check the following resources for updates about SPR operations and facilities:
- Seattle Parks and Recreation Website: www.seattle.gov/parks
- Seattle Parks and Recreation Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SeattleParksandRecreation/
- Seattle Parks and Recreation on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeattleParks
- Public Service Announcements made by the media about Seattle Parks and Recreation closures.
- Facility Voicemails: Please call your community center or pool for updates on their outgoing voicemail message
- Facility Facebook Pages
Increased cleaning at SPR facilities:
As a best practice to prevent the spread of viruses during this cold and flu season, and in response to general concerns over COVID-19, SPR is increasing custodial cleaning efforts at our facilities, including community centers and pools. In addition to our already-established custodial routines, we will be implementing the following measures:
- SPR will install Hand Sanitizing stations in lobby areas at our public facilities
- SPR will increase the number of times that the following high-traffic areas are sanitized, with custodians sanitizing these areas three times during their shift:
- Bathroom countertops, stall handles, and flushing devices
- Entry/exit door handles and surrounding areas
- Lobby desk tops
- SPR is also working to increase the number of times that park bathrooms are cleaned each day.