Cuomo allows lower-risk NY youth sports to resume in September
Higher-risk sports with full physical contact will be limited to practice only
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that lower-risk youth sports will be able to start again on Sept. 21 while high-risk sports will be limited to practice only.
Cuomo's decision clears the way for sports such as tennis, soccer, cross county, field hockey and swimming to practice and play throughout the state.
For those sports that are authorized to compete, no travel practice or play would be permitted outside of the school's region until Oct. 19, at least.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“We’re doing this in phases. We want to see what the effect is. We want to see how it works,” Cuomo said.
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Meanwhile, sports with full physical contact like football, wrestling, rugby and ice hockey are not yet permitted to compete and will only be allowed to practice for the time being, Cuomo said during Monday's press briefing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York State Public High School Athletic Association officials have since tweeted that the association will follow the timeline set forth by the governor.
The news comes just after Cuomo gave New York schools the OK to bring children back to classrooms this fall for another school year.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In making the decisions, Cuomo had cited success in battling the coronavirus in the state, which was once viewed as the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic.
On Aug. 24, the infection rate across New York was around 66%, which the lowest infection rate on record since the pandemic struck, Cuomo said.