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Following outcry from parents and some legislators, California has reversed course on closing playgrounds to contain a surge in coronavirus cases.

According to the updated state guidance, which was released Wednesday morning, “playgrounds may remain open to facilitate physically distanced personal health and wellness through outdoor exercise” — an about-face from the previously announced rules, which stated they would be closed in regions where critical care services were strained due to COVID-19.

Officials with the California Department of Public Health did not immediately comment on the rationale behind the change.

Though several aspects of California’s latest regional stay-at-home order have come under fire since Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled it last week, the closure of playgrounds sparked particular backlash — with parents expressing outrage and confusion about why their children’s play areas would be off-limits while places like malls remain open.

In a letter to Newsom last week, some California lawmakers also noted that lower-income areas would be hit hardest by the rule because many residents don’t have backyards and other open spaces to take their kids.

“While we must appropriately consider best practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, we also must ensure the children across the state are not unfairly deprived of their opportunities for outdoor access and play,” said the letter, which was signed by a dozen legislators. “The broad closure of playgrounds unfairly negatively impacts children and families.”

One of the letter’s signers — Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) — greeted the state’s reversal Wednesday with an emphatic, “Yay!”

“Thank you to all the legislators who joined me in asking the state to review playground closures,” she wrote on Twitter.

Officials in Los Angeles County — which had closed outdoor public playgrounds before the state’s order as part of its own set of restrictions meant to slow an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases — announced Wednesday that they would follow the state’s lead and allow playgrounds to reopen.

“Play is crucial for childhood development. But low-income communities of color living in dense housing often do not have access to a yard,” L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis wrote on Twitter. “With distance learning, having access to public playgrounds is more important now than ever.”

Generally, counties are allowed to adopt regulations that are more restrictive, but not more lenient, than the state’s.

Though the county has not publicly linked outbreaks to playgrounds, officials previously said they believed the closures were necessary.

Before issuing the regulations, health officials “went back and forth for many days” about how to handle reports from local parks departments about crowding, children playing without masks and the difficulty of sanitizing playground equipment, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said last week.

Solis reminded residents looking to take advantage of the relaxed restrictions to “stay safe and be sure to continue wearing your mask, maintaining physical distancing and wash your hands regularly.”