Hemming Park wasn’t home to lunch goers or visitors for most of Wednesday.
Instead, the park was taped off by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for the majority of the day. Vince Cavin, Friends of Hemming Park director, said someone in the park this morning “wasn’t healthy” and as a precaution, the venue was closed for cleaning.
Cavin said he thought the incident happened about 9:30 a.m. He was waiting for a full assessment from the Sheriff’s Office.
With the threat of a communicable infection, Cavin said the best practice meant closing the Downtown park and bleaching and pressure washing areas to ensure safety.
The plan is for the park to re-open at 4 p.m., in time for the group’s Blanket Bingo event from 5-8 p.m. The group’s Twitter feed also informed patrons the park was closed until that time.
A call to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office wasn’t immediately returned.