Suffolk no longer requiring mandatory COVID-19 testing for high-risk sports

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone released a statement Friday with updated guidance for high school sports from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

Based on the decreasing positivity rate for COVID-19 in Suffolk, the increasing rate of vaccination, and the eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine having been expanded to those 16 years of age and over, as well as the ability to practice and play outdoors, mandatory testing for high-risk sports is no longer required.

Boys lacrosse, which did not play in the spring of 2020, was the only sport in the high-risk classification.

"The Suffolk Department of Health will not require testing in high-risk sports for the spring season, but we will still be vigilant in promoting healthy choices, wearing masks, social distancing and most importantly encouraging our athletes and staff members to get vaccinated," said Tom Combs, the executive director for Section XI, which governs athletics in Suffolk. "We support the Suffolk Department of Health and their effort to keep our student-athletes safe. We were told 35 zip codes in high-risk zones throughout Suffolk, are still over the three percent rate of infection for a seven-day average. We still have a real issue here with the pandemic and we want to help bring those infection numbers down. If we go back to the higher pandemic infection numbers, then we would have to go back to mandatory testing."

While testing is no longer required, the Suffolk DOH recommends weekly testing and encourages athletic programs to develop opportunities for their student-athletes 16 and over to get vaccinated.

Combs also clarified that there will no longer be testing in the middle schools, which includes the last two weeks of the football season and boys lacrosse.

Suffolk will continue to provide test kits to those districts that request them for boys lacrosse. Since Feb. 1, Suffolk has distributed 80,000 test kits for high-risk sports. Additionally, the Suffolk County Police Department’s MedCAT unit will pilot a vaccine clinic for student-athletes and other student groups next week, beginning with the Center Moriches School District.

"Even though the lacrosse world is but a mere microcosm as it relates to the pandemic and its negative impact, we strongly agreed that this was a necessary step in helping these young men who have already lost so much attempt to regain a bit of normalcy," said Desmond Megna, president of the Suffolk County Lacrosse Coaches Association, who led a large rally to eliminate the mandatory testing for boys lacrosse. "We applaud the county office and Executive Bellone, who allowed us our moment, listened with open minds, and acted in the best interest of the student-athletes while maintaining a sufficient amount of safety in these still troubling times."

Combs said that he expects the decision will have a positive impact on Section XI’s Unified program, which caters to special-needs players.

"Our Unified program had 32 co-ed basketball programs in 2020 but teams throughout the county have declined to participate this spring because of the mandatory testing," he said. "We have 20 teams currently registered and I expect that number to jump with this announcement."

The Unified program is a blend of mainstream students and special needs students in an athletes-helping-other-athletes atmosphere where all students work together on a team and have fun.

"The program was very popular and doing so well," Combs said. "We had more teams than any section in New York State."

By Gregg Sarra

gregg.sarra@newsday.com@Gregg_Sarra

Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.