High school sports will open this fall despite the pandemic, state and sports officials said Tuesday.
As of Sept. 8, the start of the school year, players, officials, staff and spectators will have to wear masks at all times during sports, even during active play. The exception: cross-country running, which will have racers released at different times to maximize the physical distance between competitors.
Events will be restricted to the state limit for gatherings of 154. Volleyball teams, which traditionally play inside, can practice inside but must play their competition games outside.
Football practices will be limited to low-contact physical conditioning and skill development, with no full-contact scrimmages or games. A committee of volunteers is instead developing a plan for a seven-on-seven touch football season, said Jay Nichols, the director of the Vermont Principals Association. He hopes to see games between schools by Sept. 21.
“Our goal is to make sure as many athletes as possible can participate in their sports,” he said at Gov. Phil Scott’s regular Covid-19 press briefing Tuesday.
Asked about requiring masks for athletes at play, Gov. Phil Scott noted that the state now mandates masks for Vermonters over age 2 in public places. “We’re having masks in schools, and we feel that having the sports, if we’re going to continue going down that path, that sports should be included as well,” he said.
The governor noted he recently went on a 25-mile bike ride wearing a gaiter-type mask, a type of mask that covers the neck and has received mixed reviews from health professionals.
“It was amazing how well you could breathe with the gaiter-type, neck-type of approach,” he said.
A working group that includes school superintendents, athletic directors, a representative from the VPA’s sports medicine Advisory Committee, medical professionals, principals and members of the administration has developed new guidelines for sports, said Nichols. The state Department of Health has approved the plan.
“There’s no place in a better position to do it than our state,” said Nichols. “We’ve got mitigation strategies in place that we believe are safe. And we think the mental health ramifications of not having sports is more of a worry than actually providing sports.”
Guidelines for reopening schools
Many teachers and other school workers have expressed concern about the safety of returning to school buildings in the fall. State epidemiologist Patsy Kelso on Tuesday outlined some of the safety measures that are still being developed for school reopening. She said at the news conference that the health department is developing a plan for what to do when there is a positive case of Covid-19 in a school building – including a communication component for staff, families and the community.
“Older adults in the school and those with specific underlying medical conditions should talk to their health care provider to assess their risk and determine if they should avoid in-person contact when physical distancing cannot be maintained,” Kelso said. But she added that the risk of staff catching the virus appears to be low. The state has had 300 child care centers providing care to the children of essential workers for several months, and only five adults have tested positive for Covid-19. All of them acquired the virus outside of the child care setting, Kelso said.
“Our experience with child care indicates that we have an effective approach to identify clusters and contain them without seeing broader community spread,” Kelso said.
Schools can be opened safely, said Kelso.
“I’ve been reassured time and time again with each new case that’s been reported that our containment strategies are working,” she said. “It’s mission-critical to open schools, and we have to try. There may be no safer place to do it than in Vermont.”
Kelso also outlined some changes to initial recommendations. School personnel will no longer be asked to do health checks at the students’ first point of contact with the school system.
“We heard from many districts that it was going to be difficult to implement health checks by school personnel at first point of contact, especially when we consider the first point of contact is often a school bus,” she said. Instead, staff will do temperature checks and ask questions of the students before they enter school buildings.
The new guidance also changes the distancing recommendation from the standard 6 feet to just 3 feet to 6 feet for younger children.
“An expanding body of scientific evidence continues to support the finding that younger children less than 10 years old are least likely to acquire Covid-19,” Kelso said.
Emotional health
Scott also had Heather Bouchey, the deputy secretary for the Agency of Education, speak about students’ emotional health. The health department and other groups are drafting guidance for school officials that they expect to release in a week, said Bouchey.
“Whereas some folks can’t wait to get back into the classroom, others are understandably feeling anxious about what the new normal entails,” she said. “We recommend that little systems first take care of the adults, ensuring they are comfortable, safe and aware, because without addressing teacher and staff needs, we cannot possibly address student learning.”
Bouchey said schools should take a long-range view of including mental health measures into their planning.
“Consider incorporating physical movement into each person’s day, whether outside or safely within the classroom,” she said. “Leverage your hardworking school counselors and social workers in new ways; they are eager to assist, teach and reteach new expectations and routines. And don’t forget how powerful humor can be.”
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