Alison Bernstein, Ph.D.:
There are two pieces to this question. First, are the surfaces on the playground equipment contaminated and a potential source of infection? Second, how many people are at the playground and are they wearing masks?
Let’s tackle surfaces. All the data is in lab settings so we don’t really know what happens outside with rain and sun and the elements. CDC recommends that playgroup equipment be cleaned, but not disinfected. However, many municipalities don’t have the funds to do this. I would guess that the risk of getting COVID-19 from a playgroup surface is low, though. Of course, on a crowded playground with people not wearing masks, that risk goes up, because more people are potentially depositing virus on those surfaces.
The bigger concern to me, as with all things coronavirus, is people. Is the playground crowded? Can you and your kids maintain distance with the people who are there? If not, are people wearing masks? Did you bring your hand sanitizer to clean your and your kids’ hands regularly? This to me is the bigger concern and is highly dependent on the behavior of people around you.
This is complicated by kids being kids. Kids touch everything. They put things in their mouths. They will want to be close to their friends, especially after months apart. They might not leave their masks on or they will fall off as the play. All of these make this a complicated thing to assess.
Personally, I would go to the playground only if there were few people and we could mostly maintain distance, if all of those people were wearing masks, and if my kids let me sanitize their hands regularly and didn’t touch their faces. Fortunately, I live in the suburbs, have a nice backyard and my kids have mostly outgrown playgrounds. This calculation will be different for people who don’t have a yard or live in a city in small apartments with little access to the outdoors, but it is a calculation that should be made.
Good resource: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/parenting/playgrounds-reopen-safety-coronavirus.html
Chris Kemp, M.S.:
All activities carry some risk. You have to weigh the risk of the activity against the benefit. Outside time is really important. I see a lot of kids playing on my local park playground. From an abundance of caution, I have not allowed my own children to visit the playground yet and I'm not sure when I will. They're just as happy throwing a ball or riding a bike, both of which have almost zero risk.