SACRAMENTO – (INT) - The California Department of Public Health Monday released guidance on youth sports and detailed the process for elementary schools to request a waiver to resume in-person instruction in counties on the state monitoring list. Riverside and San Bernardino counties are included.

Youth Sports

The guidance for youth sports establishes a consistent set of rules that apply to all youth sports programs — including school-based, club, and recreational programs. Outdoor and indoor sporting events, assemblies, and other activities that require close contact or that would promote congregating, such as tournaments and competitions, are not permitted at this time. Youth sports and physical education are permitted only when physical distancing of at least six feet and a stable cohort of participants, such as a class, can be maintained. Activities should take place outside to the maximum extent possible.

“COVID-19 continues to spread in California, and to help slow transmission we must focus on basic public health guidelines to protect our families, our communities, and our students from the virus,” said Dr. Sonia Angell, State Public Health Officer and Director of the California Department of Public Health. “Today’s guidance ensures that critical public health measures are in place to reduce risk in a number of educational and youth settings.”

Story Date: August 7, 2020