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COVID In New York: One Big Hurdle To Cross, But High-Risk Sports Looking More And More Like A Go On Feb. 1

YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- If local health departments give the green like, high-risk sports can finally resume across New York state next week.

While many are thrilled, for some school districts ramping up safe practices and games in a matter of days is not that easy, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported Monday.

MORECOVID In New York: Higher Risk High School Sports Allowed To Begin Training, Competitions In February

At Iona Prep in New Rochelle, football coach Joe Spagnolo cannot wait to get back out there.

"It's a huge deal for just school morale and just some positivity for the first time in a really long time for the boys," Spagnolo said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last Friday that practice and competition in high-risk sports can finally resume on Feb. 1, if local health departments allow it.

COVID VACCINE

High-risk sports include football, basketball, wrestling and competitive cheerleading, to name just a few.

"For those of you who re waiting for the decision positively, negatively, how it's going to work, just be patient. We're going through our due diligence because we want to make sure if we do open this up, that we do this in a safe fashion," Westchester County Executive George Latimer said.

On Long Island, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran welcomed the news. She said each district will come up with its own way of complying with state guidelines.

"School is a very safe place for children and I believe that sports are a good place for kids as well, done in a structured environment following safety protocols," Curran said.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Meanwhile, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced a safety plan to also allow these sports to resume.

"The cornerstone of it is testing. We're going to be testing on a weekly basis in partnership with our school districts," Bellone said.

Back in Westchester, rapid, weekly testing is something the Yonkers Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada believes is crucial to restarting high-risk sports.

"Does Yonkers have the ability to provide the rapid test to our students. We should not be engaged in high-risk sports unless we have a surveillance testing plan," Quezada said.

Latimer said the county is working with schools and the northern counties to come up with a safe and feasible plan. An announcement is expected by Friday.

CBS2's Andrea Grymes contributed to this report

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