Athletics

ATHLETIC MITIGATION GUIDELINES

PRE- WORKOUT SCREENING:

• All coaches and athletes will be screened for signs/symptoms of COVID-19 prior to a workout. Screening includes a temperature check. Screening will be done before athletes enter the facilities if they have not been screened previously during the day.

• JH athletes will be screened before entering the facilities in the morning. HS athletes will only be screened if they leave campus before coming to athletics since they were screened before entering school.

• Any person with positive symptoms reported should not be allowed to take part in workouts and should contact his or her primary care provider or other appropriate health-care professional.

LAUNDRY:

• Clothes will be cleaned everyday, even if the athlete is not there.

• Clothes will be put at individual lockers so other athletes won’t touch them.

• Baskets will be sprayed with sanitizer while clothes are being washed.

MASK AND SANITIZER

• Everyone must wear a mask while in athletic facilities.

• Athletes will be given a gaiter mask.

• Mask must be worn unless “actively exercising”

• Mask will be attached to their laundry clip and cleaned daily

• Students will be asked to sanitize their hands before entering the facility.

• Athletes will be asked to sanitize their hands after leaving the locker room and before entering the locker room at the end of practice.

LOCKER ROOMS

• Coaches will attempt to limit the number of athletes in the locker room at a time.

• Once the athlete has changed clothes, athletes will need to leave the locker room to put on shoes, socks, braces, etc.

• Locker rooms will not be a hang out place.

• Locker rooms will be sanitized after each practice.

PRACTICES

• Athletes will need to continue social distancing during water breaks during practicing.

• Sanitizing stations will be available during practices and athletes will be encouraged to use it.

• FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

• Facilities will be cleaned at the end of each day/workout.

• Equipment used during practices will be sanitized at the end of each practice.

Below are the UIL guidelines regarding COVID 19 cases.

Individuals Confirmed or Suspected with COVID-19

1. Any individuals who themselves either: (a) are lab-confirmed to have COVID-19; or (b) experience the symptoms of COVID-19 (listed below) must stay at home throughout the infection period, and cannot return to campus until the school system screens the individual to determine any of the below conditions for campus re-entry have been met:

• In the case of an individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19, the individual may return to school when all three of the following criteria are met:

  • at least three days (72 hours) have passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications);

  • the individual has improvement in symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and

  • at least ten days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

• In the case of an individual who has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and who is not evaluated by a medical professional or tested for COVID-19, such individual is assumed to have COVID-19, and the individual may not return to the campus until the individual has completed the same three-step set of criteria listed above.

• If the individual has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and wants to return to school before completing the above stay at home period, the individual must either (a) obtain a medical professional’s note clearing the individual for return based on an alternative diagnosis or (b) receive two separate confirmations at least 24 hours apart that they are free of COVID-19 via acute infection tests at an approved COVID-19 testing location found at https://tdem.texas.gov/covid-19/.

Identifying Possible COVID-19 Cases on Campus

• Schools must immediately separate any student who shows COVID-19 symptoms while at school until the student can be picked up by a parent or guardian.

• Schools should clean the areas used by the individual who shows COVID-19 symptoms while at school (student, teacher, or staff) as soon as is feasible.

• Students who report feeling feverish should be given an immediate temperature check to determine if they are symptomatic for COVID-19.

This document refers to “close contact” with an individual who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19. Close contact is determined by an appropriate public health agency. For clarity, close contact is defined as:

• being directly exposed to infectious secretions (e.g., being coughed on while not wearing a mask or face shield); or

• being within 6 feet for a cumulative duration of 15 minutes, while not wearing a mask or face shield;

if either occurred at any time in the last 14 days at the same time the infected individual was infectious.

Individuals are presumed infectious at least two days prior to symptom onset or, in the case of asymptomatic individuals who are lab-confirmed with COVID-19, two days prior to the confirming lab test.

Required Actions if Individuals with Lab-Confirmed Cases Have Been in a School or in an Area Where UIL Activities Are being Conducted

1. If an individual who has been in areas where UIL activities have been conducted is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19, the school must notify its local health department, in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, including confidentiality requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

2. Schools must close off areas that are heavily used by the individual with the lab-confirmed case (student, teacher, or staff) until the non-porous surfaces in those areas can be disinfected, unless more than 3 days have already passed since that person was on campus.

3. Consistent with school notification requirements for other communicable diseases, and consistent with legal confidentiality requirements, schools must notify all teachers, staff, and families of all students in a school if a lab-confirmed COVID-19 case is identified among students, teachers or staff who participate in any UIL activities.

COVID-19 Symptoms

In evaluating whether an individual has symptoms consistent with COVID-19, consider the following questions:

Have they recently begun experiencing any of the following in a way that is not normal for them?

• Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit

• Loss of taste or smell

• Cough

• Difficulty breathing

• Shortness of breath

• Headache

• Chills

• Sore throat

• Shaking or exaggerated shivering

• Significant muscle pain or ache

• Diarrhea