No high school football in R.I. this fall, but soccer teams will play

“We are hoping that by then, things will be better and safer,” she said.

Raimondo had previously announced that all but two public school districts have the “green light” to open for full in-person learning beginning on Sept. 14. Providence, the state’s largest school district, and Central Falls cannot fully reopen because both cities have weekly coronavirus positive test rates of at least 100 cases per 100,000 residents.

On Friday, the governor said, “I am very excited to announce there will be school sports in the state of Rhode Island this fall.” But, she said, high school sports will be different because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and some sports will be prohibited or modified.

Cross-country and tennis are no-contact outdoor sports that are considered low risk, and they can take place this fall with “very minimal changes,” she said.

Soccer, field hockey, and sideline cheer have more physical contact, but they can proceed this fall with modifications, she said. Those restrictions are still being finalized, but they are likely to include procedures for disinfecting the ball, penalties for intentional direct contact, and electronic whistles for referees, she said.

Football will not be allowed in the fall, because it requires close contact, including blocking and tackling, and volleyball will not be allowed, because it is played indoors and all the players touch the same ball, she said.

“I am hopeful there will be football in the spring,” Raimondo said. “Stay in shape. Maybe run cross-country. We hope you will be able to play in the spring.”

She acknowledged that some other states are allowing high school football, but she said, “We just didn’t think it was safe.”

Raimondo said she deferred to experts in public health and sports. “Literally, in football and in rugby you are on top of each other constantly,” she said. “It’s about as close of a close contact as you can get, and we just didn’t think it was safe.”

Students from Providence and Central Falls can play fall sports even though their school districts are not returning to in-person education, Raimondo said. And students will be allowed to play fall sports in other districts, such as Warwick, where officials plan to reopen with distance learning only, she said.

“It wouldn’t be right to punish kids for the unwillingness of adults in those districts to do the hard work of getting kids back to school,” Raimondo said.

If students in those districts are isolated in their rooms doing distance learning all day, it’s going to be even more important for them to get out of the house, get some fresh air, and be part of a team, she said.

Teams that are allowed to play can begin practicing on Sept. 21, and games will begin a couple of weeks later, she said. The fall season will wrap up by Thanksgiving. The state is issuing the same guidelines for middle schools.

Raimondo – who played rugby at Harvard and often jokes that it prepared her for a career in politics – said youth sports are vital for students, providing them with physical, mental, and social benefits.

“Any of us who have played sports know how important it is in the life of a child,” she said. “It’s about having the chance to have a mentor who’s an adult, who’s a coach; seeing your friends; learning how to get up when you fall down; learning discipline, how to be a competitor; to get fresh air, be healthy.”

So, Raimondo said, state officials worked with the Rhode Island Interscholastic League to figure out how to allow some fall sports to continue safely.

In response to questions from reporters, Department of Environmental Management Director Janet L. Coit said schools will be responsible for ensuring that spectators at high school games abide by public health protocols.

The rules call for no more than two people in attendance for each athlete and require that members of each household wear face masks and remain six feet apart, she said. Also, the state will maintain a limit of 250 people for each outdoor sporting event, she said.

During Friday’s news conference, Raimondo said journalists are not being allowed to accompany the “facilities readiness teams” that are walking through every public school building before they reopen because those are considered “working sessions.”

“After consultation with (the Department of Health) and everybody, we said no,” Raimondo said. “We decided that, like any working meeting, it would not be open to the press. Having said that, I think it’s completely fine for some parents or some teachers or some union representatives to participate in the walk-throughs. In fact, I think that is helpful so they can be part of the problem-solving.”

The teams have walked through more than half of the school buildings, she said.

On Friday, the Department of Health reported no new deaths associated with COVID-19 in Rhode Island, and it reported 58 more positive tests out of 8,870 tests the prior day – for a percent positive rate of 0.7 percent.

“Less than 1 percent – that is a very stable picture,” Raimondo said of the percent positive rate. “As you think about going back to school, you should know – look at the facts – we are in a very good place.”

Raimondo said that it wasn’t long ago that Rhode Island was struggling to test more than 1,000 people per day. But on Thursday, the state saw nearly 9,000 tests, with an average turnaround time of less than two days, she said.

Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott reported that Rhode Island had 76 people hospitalized with COVID-19, eight people in intensive care, and four people on ventilators.

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @FitzProv.