Youth, Adult High-Contact Sports Poised To Resume In RivCo

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — On the same day that Riverside County announced elementary schools may reopen, the county also signaled that more youth and adult sports may soon resume as a result of the declining coronavirus case rate.

Moderate- and high-contact sports, including soccer, football, baseball, cheer and water polo, will likely get underway if the county’s coronavirus case rate continues to drop, county officials said Tuesday.

The state issued new sports guidance last week allowing certain moderate- and high-contact sports to begin in counties with an adjusted case rate of 14 cases or fewer per 100,000 residents.

This week, Riverside County’s adjusted case rate is 16.6, according to Riverside University Health System. The case rate is updated every Tuesday.

Given the rapid decline in the case rate over the last several weeks, the county may be poised to resume moderate- and high-contact sports as early as next week.

“Physical activity is so important to our community’s wellbeing, especially participating in sports,” Riverside County Board Chair Karen Spiegel, Second District, said in a released statement. “Our children have sacrificed much of their normal lives throughout this pandemic. This is welcomed news that our kids will soon be able to return to the sport teams that mean so much to them.”

The new state guidance also applies to adult recreational sports teams, in addition to youth sports.

Athletic programs must obtain consent from the parents or caregivers on the risks of virus transmission by participating in the sport. In addition, weekly COVID-19 testing for all players and coaches is required for those involved in high-contact sports. Tests and results must be available within 24 hours of competitions, according to the county and state.

Competitions between different teams will be allowed if both teams are within Riverside County, or a neighboring county that also has an adjusted case rate of 14 or less where that sport is also permitted.

Teams are only allowed to play one game per day.

Youth sports may include observers who are immediate household members during practice and competition. Physical distancing and face coverings must be maintained. Spectators are not permitted for adult sports at this time.

One of the county's biggest sporting events, the annual BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, was canceled for 2021. The economic fallout from the canceled event is estimated at millions of dollars for the Coachella Valley.

For more detailed information on the new sports guidance, which sports may resume and the testing requirements, read the state guidelines here.

On Tuesday the county also announced that Riverside County elementary schools may reopen due to the falling coronavirus case rate. Four school districts have already had their reopening safety plans approved by the county, and more will likely get a green light in the coming days and weeks.

Read more about elementary schools reopening and the districts that are set to resume here.

The positive news about schools and sports comes as the COVID-19 positivity rate dropped below 10 percent in Riverside County — the lowest in almost three months — and coronavirus hospitalizations continued to fall.

According to the Riverside University Health System, the state-adjusted positivity rate, which is based on test results over rolling seven-day periods, is now down to 7.6 percent, compared to 11 percent last week.

The last time that metric hovered below 10 percent was in the first week of December, according to figures.

Coronavirus-positive hospitalizations are at 407, compared to 441 on Monday, and that includes 112 intensive care unit patients, 20 fewer than a day ago, RUHS said.

Despite the downtrend, ICU bed availability countywide technically remains at 0 percent, though the majority of admissions are not from COVID-19.

Figures showed the total number of COVID-19 cases recorded since the public health documentation period began in March is 288,541, up 719 from Monday.

Officials said there have been a total of 3,695 deaths from virus-related complications in the last 11 months, compared to 3,664 reported Monday.