State updates guidelines for sports, bands

The California Department of Public Health updated its guidelines for school activities on Wednesday, essentially requiring athletes to wear masks while playing indoor sports placing restrictions on such band students who play wind instruments while indoors.

CDPH’S update for for K-12 schools revised guidance for extracurricular activities, including athletics and music. CDPH stated the guidelines apply to all school extracurricular activities at all times, not just during school hours when it comes to sports, band, chorus and club events.

Athletes must now wear masks while playing indoors. The sport most affected by this policy is volleyball. An exception is if wearing a mask poses a choking hazard as determined by “well-recognized health authority such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The California Department of Public Health on Wednesday revised its school guidance to cover extracurricular activities, including athletics and music.

Students who can’t play a musical instrument while wearing a mask — such as wind instruments — are restricted when playing their instruments indoors. Again there’s an exemption for if the mask poses a choking hazard.

Students can play instruments indoors such as wind and brass instruments like trumpets when the openings at the end of their instruments are covered with bell coverings and when they maintain six feet of social distancing.

Otherwise if students want to continue to play wind and brass instruments indoors they must be tested once a week for COVID-19, including those who are fully vaccinated.

When it comes to weekly testing for students who want to continue to play wind and brass instruments indoors, schools must be in compliance with this guideline by September 27.

Students can continue to play their instruments outdoors, so bands can continue to perform at football games.

The CDPH stated on November 1 it will decide if any of these updated guidelines need to be revised.