SPORTS
Guadalupe Dominguez Trujillo
Sports Editor
Athletes statewide are anxiously waiting for tomorrow to come. All counties will know whether or not they are eligible to play sports tomorrow as counties release how many positive COVID-19 cases there are per 100,000 residents.
It was announced on Feb. 19 by the California Department of Public Health that counties with a ratio of 14 positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents may resume sports activities as soon as Friday, Feb. 26.
Schools in Los Angeles, including Hollywood High, are on a thin line as last week, on Feb. 16, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health released a statement on positive cases within the county. As of last week there were 20 cases per 100,000 people in LA County. This means that in the past week we would have to have gone down 6 cases to be given the OK for sports to resume. If LA County does not meet the case rate of 14 to 100,000 people, then school teams will only be allowed to condition and would have to wait to play with other schools until the numbers meet state requirements.
Guidelines and COVID Modifications by the CIF will be released for each sport as the county changes tiers. Counties in purple tiers will allow outdoor low contact sports. Counties in the red tier will allow outdoor moderate contact sports to be played. Outdoor high contact sports and indoor low contact sports can be played as counties reach the orange tier. Lastly, once counties reach the yellow tier, indoor moderate and indoor high contact sports will be allowed.
As the CIF prepares to welcome back students, they have introduced official guidelines for players, staff, and observers. There will be a limit on matches played this season to protect staff and players. For example, this football season will only consist of 10 matches. Athletes and anyone present during conditioning or games are to wear face masks and social distancing will be enforced. Coaches are encouraged to limit the use of unnecessary equipment such as cones, and sanitize anything that is used. Individual school administrations will have the option of being stricter with their guidelines.
Full Guidance for Outdoor and Indoor Youth and Recreational Adult Sports by the California Department of Public Health: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/outdoor-indoor-recreational-sports.aspx
2020-2021 Guidelines and Modifications for all CIF Sports
https://cifstate.org/covid-19/All_Sports_Guidelines.pdf
News Release from the County of Los Angeles:Public Health (Feb.16):http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phcommon/public/media/mediapubhpdetail.cfm?prid=2968