Masks and Sports

During a statewide meeting, doctors from the Alaska and Anchorage health departments strengthened their guidance for wearing masks given rising COVID-19 cases and a move to indoor sports. Doctors recommend that all youth athletes wear masks when they’re playing or competing — even when that activity is vigorous.

In the summer and fall, coaches, school districts and athletic associations wrote COVID-19 mitigation plans for youth sports that prioritized wearing face coverings while on the sidelines, coaching or watching. Players could choose to wear masks while engaged in vigorous activity, but some mitigation plans said athletes didn’t have to wear face coverings during exertion.

Alaska’s lead doctors now strongly recommend wearing face coverings for sports, especially for indoor sports, including playing basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, and playing hockey and indoor soccer. That same strong recommendation for mask wearing goes for adults working out, running on treadmills, or exercising in other ways in indoor gyms. The exception? Swimmers can’t wear a mask when their faces are in the water (but they do need to wear one on the pool deck).

Read the entire article from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services on the Play Every Day blog online