Youth Sports 'Primary Area Of Concern' For Coronavirus In Montco

NORRISTOWN, PA — While Montgomery County's overall rate of positivity on coronavirus tests continues to paint a positive picture of the local progress of the virus, officials have noted that youth sports remains one of the "primary areas of concern" where new cases are continually popping up.

Next to private social gatherings like parties, a bulk of new coronavirus cases in the county are coming from youth sports leagues.

"It is very hard for transmission to be avoided in settings where people are close together and not wearing masks," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said.

The county's percent positivity rate for testing is now down to 3.16 percent, a drop from 3.47 percent about a week ago. Montgomery County is notably lower than all of its neighbors in the greater Philadelphia area, despite being ground zero for the virus in the region back in March. Bucks (3.9 percent), Chester (5.3 percent), Delaware (6.5 percent), and Philadelphia (5.4 percent) are all higher.

The news comes as Gov. Wolf recommended on Thursday that there should be no organized sports in all of Pennsylvania until Jan. 2021, a statement which would be a departure from his administration's formal guidance issued back in June.

"The guidance is that we ought to avoid any congregate settings, and that means anything that brings people together is going to help that virus get us," Wolf said in a news conference Thursday. "Anytime we get together for any reason, that's a problem."

Arkoosh recommended residents to "please just be very mindful if you engage in these activities," as becoming lax on mask wearing and social distancing could quickly lead to a resurgence in the virus. Several youth sports teams in Montgomery County are in quarantine.

For now, though, despite the recommendation from Wolf's administration, there is no ban, and leagues continue. And it's not just youth leagues: sport and social leagues have begun restarting, as well. Arkoosh said it was up to families and individuals to make a decision based on their circumstances and risk factors.

"Think twice about this," she said. "If it makes sense for your family to have a child to participate in youth sports or not."

Officials noted that there's been a significant improvement on cooperation with contact tracers in the county, after some issues over the past month with residents declining to give names of fellow partygoers. As of Wednesday, 96 percent of individuals contacted by contact tracers are fully cooperating, the county said.

The county has seen 253 new cases over the last seven days, a slight decrease from the 266 the seven days prior. All told, there have been 9,819 cases in the county, with 821 total deaths.