D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser suspended high school sports and limited other sporting activities in an order that takes effect Friday, the mayor tweeted Monday.
Nine high-contact sports, including martial arts, football, soccer and others, will be banned across the district, with the exception of “universities or professional leagues” if they are adhering “to a health and safety plan approved by its accrediting or governing body,” according to a slideshow Bowser linked in her tweet. (RELATED: REPORT: Washington, DC, Mayor Bowser To Announce New COVID-19 Restrictions Before Thanksgiving)
“Beginning Friday, a new order will limit recreational activities in the District, including high-contact sports and high school sports and competitions,” Bowser tweeted.
3/ The order will also limit youth sports, physical education, and DPR permits. Please stay tuned to https://t.co/yn4jbS0FeA for full guidance. pic.twitter.com/vS0nUl0c7Q
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) December 7, 2020
The suspension of high school sports activities extends to “DC Public Schools, public charter schools, private schools, and parochial schools,” the slideshow said. High school athletes’ sports, including “other sports and physical activities,” from “recreation centers and sports clubs” are suspended.
Middle-school students and younger kids can still do “organized drills and clinics for high-contact sports” if groups have a maximum of 12 people, according to the slideshow. Another condition is “the activities do not involve actual physical contact with one another.”
The Department of Parks and Recreation will not give permits that cover “organized sports and team play on DPR fields,” according to the slideshow.
“Any organization holding an existing DPR permit for sports involving physical contact may only use the permit to conduct no-contact drills and workouts, for children younger than high school or for adults,” the slideshow said.
“Residents may continue to use DPR fields for individual exercise or casual, non-league, non-high-contact games and activities, provided they adhere to guidance relating to social distancing,” the slideshow said.
Gym classes will not be allowed to do physical activities where students are “within six feet of one another” at any grade level, according to the slideshow.
The District of Columbia reported four additional deaths connected to the coronavirus Monday, according to The Washington Post. The total of COVID-19 deaths in DC is now at 701 with the update and the district is facing 183 reported cases per day.
Monday marked a record for the weekly average of the greater D.C. area’s coronavirus cases, the Post reported. Compared to last week, cases have gone up 40% and the average number of cases per day reached a record 252 cases.
Bowser’s office didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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