Fans permitted to attend NM high school games, McKinley Co. schools don’t meet threshold
WINDOW ROCK
In a joint statement the New Mexico Public Education Department and the New Mexico Activities Association announced on Thursday that spectators are now allowed to attend school sporting events.
Before this announcement all prep games were closed to the public and now schools may permit fans to attend school-related events in limited capacity based on the state’s county-by-county COVID-19 risk system established by the New Mexico Department of Health.
“We are so excited about the opportunity to have spectators at some school sporting events,” said Sally Marquez, executive director of the New Mexico Activities Association in the statement. “We have been working hard with the governor’s office, the Public Education Department and the Department of Health to find a way to safely allow fans at the games. We all have something to cheer about.”
New Mexico Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart said it’s reasonable to allow spectators to attend sporting events based on what the current public health order allows.
“It makes sense to align student athletics with what’s now permissible in the current public health order,” Stewart said. “We understand the importance of sports in the lives of our students, families and communities. We encourage participation in sports by students as a healthy outlet and by parents as supportive spectators. At our core we want to keep athletes and families safe.”
Currently, all McKinley County public and private schools are not allowed to house fans since they remain in the red level, which is considered high risk for new COVID-19 cases.
In the most recent statewide metrics, McKinley County had an average of 7.0 positivity rate over a 14-day average for the week of Feb. 8 to 22.
The county has to have a positivity rate of less than 5% in a two-week period to permit fans.
Meanwhile, schools in turquoise counties can allow up to 75% capacity for outdoor events and up to 33% for indoor events.
In designated green counties, schools can allow up to 50% for outdoor events while indoor events is up to 25% capacity.
In yellow counties, outdoor events can hold up to 25% capacity.
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