Stanislaus County criticizing new sports activities pointers for being much less restrictive than faculty reopening pointers

According to the new guidelines for youth sports, high contact sports can be played with a fall rate of 14 cases per 100,000, while schools can only be reopened with 7 cases per 100,000.

STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. – Stanislaus County officials are delighted with the new, less restrictive guidelines for opening up youth sport, but are disappointed with how much less restrictive they are than opening schools.

“We are disappointed with the misalignment as junior high and high school campuses still cannot open in the purple row,” said Scott Kuykendall, Superintendent of Schools in Stanislaus County, in a press release.

Schools cannot reopen until the county has hit red level and there is a case rate of seven cases per 100,000 people, which is much more restrictive than the new youth sports guidelines.

The new guidelines state that high-contact outdoor sports such as soccer, basketball, and rugby can be played in counties in the purple or red plains with fall rates of less than 14 cases per 100,000 people. The athletes aged 13 and over and the coaches would also have to be tested once a week when they play.

Stanislaus County’s fall rate is still above that new threshold to get back into exercise. As of Saturday, the case rate is 21.7 cases per 100,000.

But the county is still upset that the state is the only entity with the power to reopen schools and get back to exercise. Stanislaus County Education Department and Stanislaus County Health Department cannot override state guidelines.

“The path to opening up our schools to personal learning is clear. We must take all measures to slow the spread so that we can meet the criteria set out in the government guidelines and open our schools,” said Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, Stanislaus County Public Health Commissioner, said in the press release.

Dr. Vaishampayan and Superintendent Kuykendall both say schools “should be the first to open and the last to close, and should commit to opening schools as quickly and safely as possible”.

The county is asking the state to work with them to give Stanislaus County flexibility in reopening its schools so that students can return to campus.

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