Montco Youth Leagues Exposed To COVID, But Not (Yet) Spreading It

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — While numerous local youth sports teams have been exposed to coronavirus and have had to quarantine, there is not yet an indication that coronavirus itself is spreading within sports teams or as a direct result of practices or games, officials in Montgomery County clarified this week.

This is in large part due to the cooperation of sports leagues and schools with county officials and contact tracers. It's part of an improvement across the board: the county said they now have a 96 percent cooperation rate with all contact tracing in the county.

"That is really great, and a lot better than we were doing previously," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said this week.

Large social gatherings like parties, family events, and vacations continue to be the cause of the "bulk" of all of the county's actual transmissions, contact tracers have found.

In turn, these individuals go on to infect and expose other groups like schools, daycares, work settings, and, of course, youth sports leagues. But, thus far, anyway, actual games and practices are not resulting in spread of the virus itself, just exposure to it.

The distinction is an important one for the leaders of local leagues who are taking the virus seriously and have worked exhaustively to put strong safety protocols in place.

"It is crucial as elected Little League leaders of our community that we take away the word "CAN'T" from kids vocabulary and make sure they understand the word CAN," Jason Eric Saylor, the president of Lower Perkiomen Little League, told Patch, pointing to the success in his own league at protecting players and coaches.

A total of 130 individuals have been put in quarantine in Montgomery County since May due to exposure to the virus. At any given time, Arkoosh said the county is monitoring several different teams which have been exposed to the virus.

Gov. Wolf's recently amended official state guidance says that all organized sports should be delayed in the state until 2021. There's been pushback from the PIAA on the issue, which plans on making a final decision on high school sports Friday afternoon. Groups of families and athletes have also protested, arguing officials have not taken the mental health impacts seriously enough.

"When a player tells me he can't pitch or he can't catch- we don't give up- we create a process so the player learns that he CAN pitch and CAN catch," Saylor added. "That is the same process of not shutting down our league - we CAN do things , when we put our collective minds together - that is what makes LP a great community!"

The latest guidance from state and county officials still recommends, not requires, that residents avoid "congregate" settings, defined in Pennsylvania as more than 25 people, where possible. But the note that leagues have not yet seen spread, only exposure, reflects the strength of the safety protocols put in place by local leagues and schools, and the importance of their close cooperation with county authorities, officials said.

Arkoosh did note that stopping any exposure was even more important as some schools begin to reopen.

"Especially as we get back to the fall, we really hope to minimize the exposure of young people," she said.

In addition to an improvement on cooperation with contact tracing, the county has also seen significant improvements in mask wearing.

Officials are also monitoring other settings like daycares, along with youth sports leagues. A total of 50 individuals have been quarantined as a result of exposure there since May.