Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
County permits sports practices
WEST CHESTER » The Chester County Commissioners and Chester County Health Department are committed to ensuring the health and safety of our County as it transitions through Governor Wolf’s phased reopening.
Both recognize that minimizing the impact of COVID-19 is of highest priority and the value of outdoor recreation and exercise in promoting mental health, physical fitness for children and adults alike. As such, Chester County organized sports will be permitted to begin practices during the “yellow” phase of the Governor’s reopening plan beginning today.
Parents and coaches must remain diligent in assessing personal risk of players to begin practice, based upon individual circumstances, and seeking guidance from a health care provider. Individuals at a higher risk for COVID-19 should not participate in organized sports during the “yellow” phase.
“The move to permitting organized sport practices is reliant on the diligence of organized sports leaders to protect the safety of coaches, players and families,” said Jeanne Casner, Director of the Chester County Health Department. “But so too is the cooperation of coaches, parents and players in keeping the whole community safe.”
Businesses that conduct outdoor activities may resume outdoor operations, such as miniature golf and motorsports, under new coronavirus reopening guidance issued Wednesday by Gov. Tom Wolf.
The guidance for yellow and green phase counties includes businesses that offer mountain biking, go-karts, rock climbing, disc golf, paintball, horse riding, tennis, archery or shooting, and other similar facilities that conduct operations outdoors.
Businesses that operate these outdoor recreational activities may resume operations but may not operate indoor spaces for public or visitor use other than restrooms and ticketing and entry locations.
“As summer quickly approaches and all 67 counties are in either yellow or green phases of reopening, it was important to provide businesses with the guidance necessary to safely reopen or
plan for reopening as they reach the green phase,” Gov. Wolf said. “I want all Pennsylvanians to remain active and to enjoy all the recreation the commonwealth has to offer, but we must do so safely and with social distancing top of mind.”
The Chester County Health Department provides the following guidelines to organized sports seeking to begin practices. No organized competition and games are allowed until the “green” phase of the Governor’s plan.
Guidance: • Limit practices to 25 or less players and coaches.
• Outdoor practice should be prioritized over indoor practice.
• Spectators, parents, volunteers and nonessential staff must remain outside the practice area.
• Conduct temperature and symptom screening of all players and coaches prior to beginning practice.
• Educate coaches and players about which symptoms should be monitored.
• Require players and coaches to wash or sanitize their hands prior to, and after, practice.
• Modify practices so players can work on individual skills, rather than on competition. If working in small groups, be mindful of keeping the players with each other, rather than switching groups or mixing groups.
• No equipment should be shared among players and/or coaches; if sharing equipment cannot be avoided, proper sanitation must be done between uses.
• All equipment must be sanitized after each practice, following current disinfection procedures.
• Coaches must wear face coverings throughout practice sessions.
• Coaches and players must practice social distancing at all times to include no physical contact such as handshakes, fistbumps, high-fives, etc.
• Spitting or chewing gum by players and coaches is not allowed.
• Require individual water bottles/beverages for all players and coaches.
• Prepackaged or boxed food should be used rather than a buffet or self-serve from a congregate bowl of snacks; reinforce the use of hand washing or hand sanitizer before eating or drinking.
• Ensure the staggered use of restroom and lockerroom facilities whenever possible and disinfect facilities between groups of users.
• Recommend players and coaches do not carpool; if carpooling is not avoidable, it should be only limited to members of the same household, or require the use of masks while carpooling.
• Provide signage and reminders about healthy behaviors, proper hand hygiene, how to wear a face covering, etc.
• Follow current procedures for players or coaches who test positive for COVID-19, or are identified as a close contact to an individual with COVID-19.