For Immediate Release
MENLO PARK — “Kids, coaches and their parents called for a return of youth sports and Governor Newsom listened,” said State Senator Josh Becker, D-Peninsula. “The plan he outlined today allows for outdoor sports to resume safely with important precautions and requirements.
“The benefits to kids’ mental health, their engagement in education, and their well-being can be enormous. Allowing our youths to return safely to sports can make that happen. Of course, we should continue to monitor the situation. If concerns arise, if we see troubling developments, we can re-evaluate and adjust.
“Restoring these aspects of normalcy with strong safety protocols for young people, their coaches and their teachers is an important step forward in our recovery from the pandemic. Prioritizing teachers for the COVID vaccine and setting aside 10% of vaccine doses for in-person educators and those returning to their classrooms resolve major pieces of the puzzle. With those now falling into place, we can move to safely restore sports.”
On Tuesday, Senator Becker wrote to the Governor to urge that he consider the resumption of outdoor and low-contact indoor school sports.
Since December, Senator Becker has advocated for prioritizing teachers and early childhood education and care workers for the COVID vaccine.
Last week, he called on San Mateo and Santa Clara counties
to align local eligibility for teachers and ECE workers with the state’s eligibility criteria. San Mateo County expands its vaccine eligibility pool to teachers and ECE workers on Monday, February 22. Santa Clara County plans to do the same on February 28.
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Further resources:
California Public Health Department of Public:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/outdoor-indoor-recreational-sports.aspx
Senator Becker’s February 16 Letter re High School Sports:
https://sd13.senate.ca.gov/news/february-16-2021/state-senator-josh-becker-urges-governor-newsom-resume-outdoor-school-sports
Senator Becker’s February 9 statement on vaccinating teachers and early childhood education and care workers:
https://sd13.senate.ca.gov/news/february-9-2021/state-senator-josh-becker-calls-vaccinating-teachers-now-against-covid-19
Media Contact: Leslie Guevarra, 415-298-3404, leslie.guevarra@sen.ca.gov