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Collected Item: “YMCA and Waterpark Reopen...And COVID-19 Kicks Into High Gear”

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YMCA and Waterpark Reopen...And COVID-19 Kicks Into High Gear

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Photograph

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YMCAs reopened with restrictions beginning on May 18, although in-person group classes did not reconvene. This photo shows a fair number of vehicles at this YMCA facility in west Wichita, Kansas, and while the city's late June order closed municipal pools and water parks, this did not apply to aquatic centers managed by private entities. Nevertheless, patrons appear to be spaced out on the water slide, with a lifeguard at the top managing the queue. These photos reveal how people in Wichita were attempting to confront the pandemic while retaining some semblance of normalcy in their daily lives, but on the same day these pictures were taken, the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment announced 1,000 new cases in the state, bringing its total to 18,611, with 2,074 of those in Sedgwick County. A week before, the state's total was 15,919.

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Aaron Peterka

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2020-07-10
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