Update: 34 California counties have now been cleared to play high school football
The California Department of Public Health released updated county-by-county COVID-19 case rate numbers on Tuesday, signaling which counties have been cleared to start playing high school football and other outdoor sports.
For the counties to resume playing outdoor high and moderate-contact sports, their adjusted case rate has to be equal to or less than 14 per 100,000. As of Tuesday afternoon, here are the counties that meet the case rate threshold and have been cleared to start playing outdoor high school sports:
(California's 58 counties are listed below followed by a 'YES' or 'NO' denoting whether they have been cleared to play as of Feb. 23)
TOTAL COUNTIES CLEARED TO PLAY: 34
Los Angeles County: YES
San Diego County: NO
Orange County: YES
Riverside County: NO
San Bernardino County: NO
Santa Clara County: YES
Alameda County: YES
Sacramento County: NO
Contra Costa County: YES
Fresno County: NO
Kern County: NO
San Francisco County: YES
Ventura County: NO
San Mateo County: YES
San Joaquin County: NO
Stanislaus County: NO
Sonoma County: YES
Tulare County: NO
Santa Barbara County: NO
Solano County: YES
Monterey County: NO
Placer County: YES
San Luis Obispo County: YES
Santa Cruz County: YES
Merced County: NO
Marin County: YES
Butte County: YES
Yolo County: YES
El Dorado County: YES
Imperial County: YES
Shasta County: YES
Madera County: YES
Kings County: NO
Napa County: YES
Humboldt County: YES
Nevada County: YES
Sutter County: NO
Mendocino County: NO
Yuba County: NO
Lake County: NO
Tehama County: NO
San Benito County: NO
Tuolumne County: YES
Calaveras County: YES
Siskiyou County: YES
Amador County: YES
Lassen County: YES
Glenn County: YES
Del Norte County: NO
Colusa County: NO
Plumas County: YES
Inyo County: NO
Mariposa County: YES
Mono County: NO
Trinity County: YES
Modoc County: YES
Sierra County: YES
Alpine County: YES (but has no high school)
Note: For the counties that did not meet the case rate threshold, they will have another chance on Tuesday, March 2 when the state's county-by-county case rate data is updated.
Read the state's complete updated youth sports guidance here. The guidance includes a chart that puts sports in tiers and lists them by their risk from low contact outdoor to high contact indoor.
After the CDPH has cleared counties to play, individual private schools and school districts can choose to be more restrictive than the guidance and not allow a particular sport to be played due to safety concerns from COVID-19. It's also important to remember that even if a sport is allowed by the CDPH, it still needs to be in season. In many counties, baseball got the green light to be played this week, but the sport won't be in season in some Sections until March.
HOW ARE OUTDOOR LOW, MODERATE AND HIGH-CONTACT SPORTS DEFINED?
Here is how the state defines each sport:
Low-Contact Outdoor Sports: Individual or small group sports where contact within six feet of other participants can be avoided. Some of these sports have relatively low exertion rates that allow for consistent wearing of face coverings when within six feet of other people.
Here is every low-contact outdoor sport:
- Archery
- Badminton (singles)
- Biking
- Bocce
- Corn hole
- Cross country
- Dance (no contact)
- Disc golf
- Equestrian events (including rodeos) that involve only a single rider at a time
- Fencing
- Golf
- Ice and roller skating (no contact)
- Lawn bowling
- Martial arts (no contact)
- Physical training programs (e.g., yoga, Zumba, Tai chi)
- Pickleball (singles)
- Rowing/crew (with 1 person)
- Running
- Shuffleboard
- Skeet shooting
- Skiing and snowboarding
- Snowshoeing
- Swimming and diving
- Tennis (singles)
- Track and field
- Walking and hiking
Moderate-Contact Outdoor Sports: Team sports that can be played with only incidental or intermittent close contact between participants.
Here is every moderate-contact outdoor sport:
- Badminton (doubles)
- Baseball
- Cheerleading
- Dodgeball
- Field hockey
- Gymnastics
- Kickball
- Lacrosse (girls/women)
- Pickleball (doubles)
- Softball
- Tennis (doubles)
- Volleyball
High-Contact Outdoor Sports: Team sports with frequent or sustained close contact (and in many cases, face-to-face contact) between participants and high probability that respiratory particles will be transmitted between participants.
Here is every high-contact outdoor sport:
- Basketball (some areas can play outdoors)
- Football
- Ice hockey
- Lacrosse (boys/men)
- Rugby
- Rowing/crew (with 2 or more people)
- Soccer
- Water polo