MTAAP Guidance for Adolescent Athletes and COVID-19
The Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Committee on Child Health and COVID-19 consulted with Montana Cardiologists as well as referencing current National Guidance from AAP and ACC to develop the following guidance on Adolescent Athletes diagnosed with COVID-19 and return to play:
- Asymptomatic: The athlete should not return to sports until 14 days after receiving their test results and be evaluated by a healthcare provider.
- Mild illness (no fever and symptoms lasting <3 days): The athlete should not return to sports until 14 days after their COVID-19 symptoms have resolved AND have a normal EKG before return.
- Moderate illness(prolonged fevers lasting >3 days, bedrest, but no hospitalization or abnormal cardiac testing): The athlete should not return to sports until 14 days after their COVID-19 symptoms have resolved AND a referral to a pediatric cardiologist for further evaluation should be done before return.
- Severe illness(hospitalization, abnormal cardiac testing, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)): The athlete should not return to sports until they have complete cardiac testing done and be cleared by a pediatric cardiologist. Some of these patients may require a 3-6 month restriction from sports due to concern for heart inflammation (myocarditis).
The full Guidance can be found here.
CONTACT TRACING- Athletes who were contact traced, but never showed symptoms and were not told to be tested, do not need a note to return after 14 days as long as all Health Dept. policies were followed for quarantine and they continue to show zero symptoms at the end of the 14 days.
OUR USE OF COVID PROTOCOLS
Athletes are required to wear their masks on campus all the way up to active play and immediately after active play is complete. They check in at each practice, are screened for Covid symptoms, have their temperatures checked, are required to sanitize their hands and then they may prepare for practice. Volleyballs are disinfected after each practice in both gyms. Rags are thoroughly washed each weekend. The coaching staff provides prompts for use of sanitizer several times throughout practices and reminders not to touch faces or hands. Coaches/staff keep masks on throughout practices except when giving quick instruction from 6+ feet away.
Hypervigilance- Athletes need to assume that others do not understand the sport of volleyball. Though an athlete may be in the same cohort on the court with another athlete and so believe it is ok to chat together without masks on, that is not the case where the general public is concerned. Please encourage vigilance in following Covid guidelines!
