Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration announced Wednesday afternoon tweak to current gathering limitations in a move that would technically allow for fans to watch high school fall sports during this upcoming season.
‘Spectators may attend sporting events, but count towards the statewide large gathering limitations,’ the updated guidance states.
Currently indoor events allow for 25 or fewer people while outdoor gatherings are limited to 250. Spectators, coaches, players and other game-related personnel count toward those totals.
In turn it remains to be seen how schools approach letting any fans or family members into events with what likely would be limited remaining capacity once all game-necessary personnel have been accounted for.
‘A facility as a whole may not exceed 50 percent of total occupancy otherwise permitted by law,’ the restrictions state. ‘All individuals present at the facility at which such activities are held count towards gathering limitations and must comply with face covering order and social distancing guidelines.’
Locally the State College Area School District can add how it would handle the potential for spectators to a growing list of issues as the district continues to grapple with its own series of decisions regarding the fall season.
The threat of the the district reverting to remote learning would make Wednesday’s decision by the state irrelevant as it appears unlikely SCASD would move forward with the competition aspects of a fall sports season if students are unable to continue in-person learning.
In a similar vein, Centre County reported 47 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the single largest day of reporting since the onset of the pandemic.
