City of Long Beach Issues Updated Youth Sports Protocol, Quarantine Order

Long Beach, CA - The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) has issued an updated Youth Sports Protocol and Quarantine Order effective Jan. 18, 2022. The updated Youth Sports Protocol revises some masking and vaccination requirements. The new Quarantine Order allows certain asymptomatic employees to return at work after exposure to the virus.

Youth Sports Protocol
The updated protocol offers the following updates:

• In outdoor settings with fewer than 5,000 people, it is recommended, but not required, that all spectators who are in close contact with others, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask. At outdoor sporting events attend by more than 5,000 individuals, universal masking is required by all spectators and employees except for the limited time when actively eating or drinking.
• When participants are competing in indoor activities, masks are required by participants even during heavy exertion, as practicable. When actively practicing, conditioning or competing in outdoor moderate and high-risk sports where distancing is not possible, masks are required by participants, as practicable.
• When outdoors, all coaches, referees and officials should wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, when working with moderate- and high-risk sports teams where distancing is not feasible.
• It is strongly recommended that all athletes and staff become fully vaccinated and receive booster doses as soon as they are eligible.
• When there has been an outbreak of four or more linked cases among any youth sports team, a seven-day suspension of all team activities will be required. Individual conditioning and skill building may continue during the suspension period as long as everyone on the team complies fully with any individual isolation or quarantine orders that apply.
• Policies that apply to fully vaccinated people in moderate- or high-risk sports, both indoors and outdoors, have been amended so that the policies now apply to those with up-to-date vaccines (fully vaccinated PLUS boosted for those who are eligible for one).

Quarantine Order
The updated Quarantine Order states that, in workplaces other than healthcare settings, people who are fully vaccinated, whether or not they are also boosted, are not required to stay home from work and quarantine after exposure to COVID-19 if the employee:

• Remains asymptomatic
• Tests negative three to five days after the last exposure to a COVID-19 positive individual
• Self-monitors for COVID-19 symptoms (fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting or diarrhea) through day 10 from the last known exposure; AND
• Wears a well-fitted mask (surgical-type or KN95/N95 respirator) while around others, both indoors and outdoors, through day 10 from the last known exposure
• Strictly adheres to all other recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. avoiding crowds, avoiding poorly ventilated indoor spaces, maintaining a distancing of at least six feet from others, frequent handwashing).

For the latest information on COVID-19, with details on all that the City of Long Beach is doing to keep our residents safe, visit longbeach.gov/COVID19 and follow @LongBeachCity and @LBHealthDept on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. People may also visit longbeach.gov/COVID19data for up-to-date information regarding cases and vaccines in Long Beach.

Media inquiries can be directed to the Jennifer Rice Epstein, Public Affairs Officer, Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, 562.441.3590 or [email protected].