By Nur Adilah adilah@mystar.com.my

When Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the enforcement of the movement control order (MCO) in March 2020, public parks were one of the amenities that were temporarily closed to curb the spread of the pandemic. 

Over six months have passed and some of the public parks have reopened, allowing people to perform outdoor activities that do not involve physical contact. 

However, many public parks in housing areas are yet to be reopened. Park regulars who are used to healthy lifestyles have taken to jogging around the neighbourhood or by the roadside during the crack of dawn or in the evenings.

But jogging by the roadside poses a danger as joggers are exposed to the risks of being accidentally hit by fast-moving vehicles or being chased by stray dogs in their housing areas. Even worse, the poor pavement conditions in the vicinity might lead to mishaps while performing recreational activities.

The prolonged conditional and recovery MCO periods have also caused people to suffer from deterioration of mental health as they had been cooped up in their homes for too long. The unseen suffering generally affects students and employed people who have piles of tasks to be completed every day.

The call for more reopening of parks was made, following the numerous jogging accidents and a decline in people’s mental health. So why is the reopening of more public parks important?

Maintain stamina

From kids to senior citizens, everyone enjoys recreational activities. However, people who have been staying at home for too long may overlook their weekly outdoor activities, causing them to feel dull and lethargic. Exercise is vital for good health and the reopening of more public parks will allow more members of the public to exercise, hence, build and maintain their stamina through physical activities.

Ensure social-distancing

By opening up more public parks, the number of users for each park will be spread out instead of congesting them into a limited number of public parks. This way, users have the option of selecting a park with fewer people and hence, adhere to the new norm of social-distancing.

Enhance physical and mental health

There’s truth in the old adage healthy body, healthy mind. If the government opens up more public parks, more people will be able to exercise and become healthier. This is two-fold as mental health issues will decline and healthier people are more resilient to viruses. And for those who are juggling with work commitments, going for a morning stroll in the park twice a week would help to clear their minds.

Quality time with family

Despite living under one roof, some family members are unable to spend quality time with each other due to work responsibilities. Allowing families to make use of public parks will enable them to foster better relationships with each other. And families don’t need to spend huge sums of money to spend time with each other as park facilities are generally free.

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