New guidance released from the state this week says students who were exposed to COVID and are eligible for a booster shot must be boosted to attend after-school clubs and sports. Students who test positive for COVID can return to sports with clearance from their primary care provider after 10 days of quarantine.
Students not yet eligible can still participate.
The Director of Physical Education and Athletics for the Hilton School District says his office is flooded with calls from families asking if their kids can play.
“I think the guidance probably in many ways confuses many people. We got people who were exposed, back in social studies class today but they potentially might not be able to come to practice,” said Mike Giruzzi.
He predicts the biggest challenge for districts is figuring out which students are vaccinated, which are eligible for a booster and whether they’ve received the booster.
The state guidance says students and staff who were exposed to COVID can stay in school if they’re vaccinated. Dave Hennessey, a track coach for the Penfield School District, believes the rules are different for after-school activities because there are more opportunities for close contact during sports or extracurriculars.
“Sometimes when they’re racing, the mask comes down a little bit more than they should, it's going to fall naturally because when you're running, you're going to bounce and it comes down,” he said.
Hennessey is used to rearranging the roster when students are out with COVID. He says the extra work is worth it if kids get to play.
“With track, we tend to have large numbers. There’s always been cases you set your line up and someone has a family emergency or someone gets sick of something else or suddenly parents take them out of town. So we’re kind of used to being flexible in doing things on the fly. Whereas I imagine it would be much more difficult for example if I were coaching basketball,” he said. “You just got to go with the flow.”
All students, regardless of vaccination status, must isolate for five days at home if they test positive for COVID.