Indoor sporting events close doors to spectators
As of Jan. 4, the AWHS gym closed its doors to hopeful sports spectators until further notice.
An email sent out by AWHS administration on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 2:16 pm announced that, until further notice, no spectators will be permitted to attend indoor sports games due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. The decision was made by the Marin County Health Department and the Marin County Athletic League in an effort to reduce COVID-19 cases.
The email from AWHS administration stated in bold,
“Effective immediately there will be no spectator attendance at any indoor athletic events in Marin County (this includes parents).”
This is a shift from recent events that gained large spectator turnouts from students, parents and visiting fans. Following the basketball games on Friday, Dec. 17, however, around 15 attendees tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email sent out by the AWHS administration on Dec. 22.
Instead of viewing games in-person, spectators may now watch AWHS sports games live on the Archie Williams Athletics YouTube channel. Other schools, such as Tamalpais High, have similar channels (like “TamTv”) for those inclined to view away games.
AWHS administration is currently working to navigate sporting events amid the new surge in COVID-19 cases. Until further notice from the administration, indoor sports will continue without an in-person audience.
UPDATE: January 6, 2022, 10:14pm
On Thursday, Jan. 6, the Tamalpais Unified High School District (TUHSD) altered previous regulations of spectators to indoor sporting events. Detailed in an email from AWHS administration, the plan now relaxes previous mandates of absolutely no spectators to now allowing 50 parents/guardians of participating students to attend events (25 parents/guardians from AWHS and 25 from the opposing school). The new regulations do not affect essential TUHSD personnel such as scorekeepers and school officials, who will continue to be on staff during indoor events.
To enter indoor events, all spectators must show proof of vaccination and wear an appropriate mask at all times. In a separate portion of the email, Marin Public Health says that surgical, N95 or KN95, masks are “strongly recommended,” due to recent findings that cloth masks may be less effective than health officers previously suspected.
It is not known how long this new plan from TUHSD will be in effect as new regulations develop to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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Corina is a senior, in her third year of journalism. You can often find her at a concert and spending time with friends. She loves Mexican food and listening...
