Lamont extends Covid-19 exec orders to February; new guidance for school athletics issued
With Connecticut”™s Covid-19 numbers continuing to rise at what he called a “concerning” rate, Gov. Ned Lamont has signed an executive order extending his previous orders for the pandemic through Feb. 9.
New guidance on winter sports for grades K-12 has also been issued, with implications for football, wrestling, lacrosse and other athletics.
Coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Connecticut rose by 94 over the weekend for a total of 496, while deaths increased by 27 to 4,698. The state”™s daily positivity test rate now stands at 3.72%.
The governor”™s new executive order:
- Extends to February 9, 2021 all previously issued executive orders related to Covid-19 that are in effect as of today.
- Extends to Feb. 9, 2021 any unexpired order, rule regulation, directive, or guidance issued by any official, agency department, municipality, or entity pursuant to an unexpired Covid-19 order, unless earlier modified or terminated by the issuing authority.
In the meantime, the state”™s Department of Public Health (DPH) has released updated comprehensive sports guidance incorporating winter athletics for interscholastic, recreational, and private leagues for youth and adults.
The department”™s recommendations will be codified as part of the updated sector rules on sports from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), and do not apply to college level or professional athletics.
The new guidance is based on a risk assessment for Covid-19 conducted by the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee of the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS), an organization governing high school athletics. The guidance includes a description of the risk categories for sports, breaks down the risks of different activities associated with those sports, and makes recommendations for each.
“As we get into the winter season, there is a higher level of community spread of Covid-19 than there was a few months ago, and that impacts athletes in all sports, especially those played indoors,” Acting DPH Commissioner Dr. Deidre Gifford said. “It is still important to remain as physically active as possible during the winter and I encourage that.
“It will be important going forward that sports leagues or event organizers give their coaches and players the tools to mitigate risks of transmission as much as possible,” she continued. “For our youth, this also clearly applies uniformly to sports played as part of a school-based league and private or recreational leagues.
“We have seen clusters of cases related to individual teams and sporting events,” Gifford said, “This can be very disruptive to schools if a youth or anyone else is exposed, then needs to quarantine due to exposure. Even though the effects of Covid-19 in youth tend to be less significant, children can easily spread infection to more vulnerable members of our community if exposed.”
Added DECD Commissioner David Lehman: “Our broader reopening strategy has always been focused on striking the right balance between allowing as much social and economic activity as possible while making sure the appropriate protocols are in place to keep our residents safe. Sports is certainly no exception. We know how much these types of activities mean to our overall quality of life in Connecticut, and I feel these new guidelines offer a smart path forward during the critical winter months.”