Skip to main content
MenuSearch & Directory

St. Louis Health Systems Offer Guidance for Restarting Youth and High School Sports

ST. LOUIS, MO - We are all craving a sense of normalcy in this COVID-19 world, perhaps none more than our children. They long for the days of after-school sport practices and comradery with their teammates, on and off the field.

The question looms, however; is it safe to resume youth and high school sports?

SLUCare, SSM Health, BJC HealthCare/Washington University Physicians and Mercy collaborated to offer coaches, athletic directors, and parents some recommendations for resuming organized sports and activities.
 
Sports medicine and pediatric infectious diseases specialists from the three health systems recommend we all continue to frequently wash our hands, keep social distance, disinfect high-touch areas, and avoid touching our face.
 
They also recommend:

The clinical team of experts recommends a four-phase approach to bringing sports back, with the opportunity of phase one starting June 15, pending continued stable or downward trend of COVID cases in the given region.

Each phase builds up the amount of interaction players may have with each other.

“The health and safety of our community is our priority, but as a father of children who are athletes, I very much recognize the desire to again enjoy things like youth and school sports,” says Alexander Garza, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. “To be successful with this, we must continue to be diligent in our hygiene and social distancing practices to control the spread of COVID-19.”


SLUCare Physician Group is the academic medical practice of Saint Louis University, with more than 500 health care providers and 1,200 staff members in hospitals and medical offices throughout the St. Louis region. SLUCare physicians are among the most highly trained in their fields - more than 50 specialties in all - and are national and international experts, renowned for research and innovations in medicine.