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Mayor Jim Strickland should close Memphis City Parks until further notice, says Otis Sanford

Local 24 News political analyst and commentator Otis Sanford shares his point of view on social distancing at Memphis parks.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The coronavirus is disrupting our lives in immeasurable ways. Schools are closed. Businesses are shuttered. And hospitals that are not already overrun with patients are bracing for the day soon when they will be. Local and state governments are being forced to upend their budgets and scrap much-needed projects in order to deal with the health implications of the pandemic.

The point is - everybody is sacrificing. And yet there are still far too many people in Memphis who are refusing to take this outbreak seriously. They are continuing to congregate – particularly in parks and playgrounds – in direct opposition to social-distancing requirements. My mother had a term for this. It’s called being hard-headed.

Now, Mayor Jim Strickland is imposing tougher measures by limiting access to city parks. He’s even closing some roads that lead to the more popular parks. But honestly, I don’t think this is enough. I believe the mayor has to declare that city parks are completely off limits until further notice. That includes city owned golf courses.

Yes, I know that’s drastic. But we are in drastic times. This virus is a killer. And the mayor is right. Some people are not taking it seriously enough, which puts the rests of us in danger.

Everything else in our daily lives has been altered. But it will all go for naught if we don’t heed the warnings and shelter at home. And that’s my point of view.

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