Opinion: Taking a rest from The Rec

Thank you, North Platte and Lincoln County, for putting our health first. It was a good move to shut down the courthouse, library, senior center, and the Recreation Center.

The Rec is a place where people often come to work out, swim, and have fun. This is also a place parents can send their children while they are at work, but now that we are in a pandemic, we need to follow the city’s lead and stay away from all public places. This will ensure that social distancing is being respected, and will also slow down COVID-19.

But wait! Won’t the chlorine from the pool keep the virus off of me? Actually, according to the World Health Organizations (WHO), chlorine will not kill the virus if it is already internalized, but it and bleach are both good surface disinfectants. The WHO also says that you should not spray yourself down with these items, as they can cause severe skin irritation.

The Rec shut-down may not be good for a few people, such as parents and employees, but it is still good that the Rec closed, looking at it from a social distancing type situation. The reason for this is, on a busy day, there can be more than 80 people in the swim area. If one person has the Corona virus and goes swimming, this can infect many people, even if the person has no symptoms. 

The CDC reports that, working out and having physical activity leads to a stronger immune system and healthier life. Since  you can’t work out at the city’s facility, what can you do to keep yourself healthy and fit during this outbreak?You can go for a run or walk, avoiding people, of course, maybe go biking. You just need to make sure that you are being healthy, and make sure that you are not putting yourself or others at risk. You can YouTube workouts that you enjoy while still staying healthy.. Exercising in isolation probably isn’t what you wanted, so put some music on to fill the quiet of your home.

So, please keep away from public places, for the safety of the rest of North Platte. At this point, being neighborly means staying away from them.