SHOULD YOUTH PLAY SPORTS DURING THE OUTBREAK?

The short answer is, for now in most scenarios, no.

The long answer: In its coronavirus materials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages Americans to “consider adjusting or postponing large meetings or gatherings.” It offers guidance for school settings and community and faith leaders but nothing specifically for sports settings. However, the CDC says that the virus gets spread most frequently among close contacts within about 6 feet — distance that is hard to create in team and some individual sports. Transmission of the virus occurs much more commonly through respiratory droplets than through contact with contaminated surfaces.

The CDC recognizes that “each community is unique, and appropriate mitigation strategies will vary based on the level of community transmission, characteristics of the community and their populations, and the local capacity to implement strategies.” In areas where the risk of transmission is high, the CDC recommends the cancellation of community gatherings of any size. So far, coronavirus cases have been found in nearly every state and at least 20 states and Washington D.C. have issued a state of emergency.

The coming weeks are critical in limiting the spread of the virus, which is highly contagious. To keep from overwhelming the health care system, medical experts at the Center for American Progress on March 14 called for a ban on all gatherings anywhere of more than 50 people, and no sporting events at all.

On March 13, Sports Illustrated published a Q&A with two doctors on what types of sports activity might be acceptable to participate in. But note: That was before a national emergency was declared by the federal government. The gravity of crisis, and importance of social distancing, has only grown since then.

“I absolutely urge all youth sports programs to take a temporary pause for at least two weeks and then reevaluate the situation,” said Dr. Neeru Jayanthi, a sports medicine physician at Emory University who was an adviser on our Healthy Sport Index. “It is so critical to play each of our parts in our efforts to contain this deadly virus.”

Children appear to be less likely than adults to suffer severe complications from the coronavirus, according to the CDC, though it remains unclear whether those with underlying conditions are at elevated risk. The greater concern, said Dr. Andrew Stolbach, an emergency physician and faculty member at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is that youth will become a carrier for the virus and pass it on to their parents or grandparents.

“We don’t need organized sports now,” said Stolbach, who coaches his son’s wrestling team, which canceled its final state tournament for the weekend of March 14. “This is especially true if you take a bunch of kids to a travel tournament and they stay at hotels. Now we’re just mixing a lot of people again, when what we’re trying to do is slow the trajectory of the virus. Also, hospitals may eventually need auxiliary spaces for patients such as hotel rooms.”