Let us back into parks, forests! Experts say it’s ‘essential for public health’

Association of Public Health Officials and Society for Protection of Nature issue joint plea; say time in green spaces reduces depression, lowers blood pressure, speeds recovery

By Sue Surkes
  • Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
 17 April 2020, 2:17 pm
Israelis walk their dogs and exercise in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park on March 22, 2020, as the government issued instructions to avoid public spaces to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Public health physicians and environmental advocates issued a joint call Thursday for restrictions on going out into nature and open spaces to be lifted as soon as possible, saying this is “essential for the health of mind and body and is an inseparable part of building our national strength.”

The Israel Association of Public Health Officials (IAPHO) and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) said in a letter to the prime minister and the health and education ministers that the health benefits of spending time outdoors in nature or in parks was proven and took on additional importance after the long period during which Israelis have been in lockdown at home because of the coronavirus.

“Research proves that spending time in green spaces contributes to a reduction in depression, a drop in blood pressure and speedier recovery from illness,” the statement added.

On condition that social distancing was maintained, the risk of infection from coronavirus was negligible while the health benefits were enormous, Prof. Hagai Levin, chairman of the IAPHO, said.

The Old Oak at the Beit Keshet picnic area, in the Lower Galilee. (Shmuel Bar-Am)

Iris Hahn, CEO of the SPNI, said, “When talk begins of relaxing the restrictions, one of the essential steps to take is to allow activity in open spaces.”

Other countries that have imposed lockdowns have enabled people to go outdoors, she wrote, and there were ways to supervise the numbers of people and the distance they maintain between one another, she said.

The government is set to announce a limited reduction of coronavirus restrictions in the coming days.

Tel Aviv’s deserted Yarkon Park amid the coronavirus crisis, March 18, 2020. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90.)

National parks and nature reserves have been closed for around a month and at present all Israelis, other than those deemed essential workers, are restricted to within 100 meters of their homes, allowed only to shop for essential items such as food and drugs.

Between Tuesday evening and Thursday morning, the nation was in lockdown for the end of the Passover holiday and the Mimouna festival. Inner-city travel was banned and bakeries were shuttered until Thursday morning, to stem the spread of the pandemic.

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