The ballpark at the Evangeline Ville Platte Recreation District is reopening to the public, according to parish police juror Bryan Vidrine.
The reopening comes after Mayor Jennifer Vidrine announced June 12 that the park would be closed for the remainder of the scheduled baseball season.
Vidrine said the closure was because of "public health concerns" after a participant in one of the REC leagues tested positive for COVID-19.
She went on to say there was no evidence that the child spread the virus to anyone else at the ballpark and that the child contracted the virus from a family member outside of the park.
The Recreation District posted a statement from Vidrine on Facebook Tuesday. Vidrine said that she spoke with the Department of Health and an epidemiologist, who confirmed that closing the park at that time was the right decision.
Officials decided that game play may now resume, providing the proper guidelines and protocol are followed. One of those guidelines is that the team and coaches of the child who tested positive for COVID-19 must quarantine for 14 days before playing again.
Vidrine said state officials sent her a list of guidelines to follow for youth sports, which was forwarded to the parks department.
Director David LaHaye said he posted the statement so "everyone knows the circumstances surrounding the decision Friday."
Several parents were upset about the news, claiming the closure didn't make sense and that it would be detrimental to children in the area.
We've reached out to Vidrine for comment.
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