Los Angeles County is relaxing some of its COVID-19 guidelines for adults and kids participating in youth sports.
Fully vaccinated kids who play outdoor sports will no longer have to submit to weekly testing, the department of public health said Monday, unless there is a positive case on their team or among staff members who work with them.
“A lot of schools are testing kids weekly and that will fulfill the weekly youth sports testing requirement,” said L.A. Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. She added that about half of the school outbreaks reported from the start of the month through Aug. 25 were associated with sports.
Weekly testing will continue for the following categories:
-Indoor moderate and high-risk sports - including kids, staff and volunteers who are not fully vaccinated. Examples: baseball, tennis, volleyball.
-Outdoor moderate and high-risk sports - including kids, staff and volunteers who are not fully vaccinated. Children under 12 will be able to skip the weekly testing. Examples: basketball, football, soccer.
Previous rules, which were set to begin Wednesday, required all players and staff to test weekly regardless of vaccination status.
Spectators will also have some rules to follow. Masks must be worn by anyone attending indoor sporting events whether they are vaccinated or not.
State health officials said the update is in effect for now but will be modified and reassessed when community transmission of COVID-19 is no longer high. To read the full update, click here.
On Monday, the Department of Public Health confirmed six new deaths and 2,339 new cases of COVID-19. To date, 1,405,387 positive cases of COVID-19 have been identified across all areas of L.A. County. A total of 25,251 people have died.