City of Meriden to Allow High School Football Despite Health Warnings

Choosing to ignore the advice of health experts, the city of Meriden will allow high schoolers to play football. Meriden City Manager, Tim Coon, sent this memo dated September 23 to the Hartford Courant:

While the city does not recommend that game play occur, which is the current CT DPH and local health department recommendation, we recognize that high school football is going to occur and we wish to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 exposure.

On September 3, full-contact football in Connecticut had been canceled for the 2020-2021 school year, but the Reopen CT guidelines have permitted high-risk sports activities since July. Meriden's youth football team's season ended on Wednesday, September 16, after two positive COVID-19 cases turned into 62 people having to quarantine.

Even though Meriden's high school football program will continue, it doesn't come without strict rules and regulations. If a player, coach, or individual associated with an opposing team is exposed and tests positive for COVID-19, the entire team will be required to quarantine for 14 days.

All players will be required to wear masks or a face shield while playing. All teams must follow strict Reopen CT guidelines, and the visiting team needs to agree to those rules.

I hate to be a naysayer, but I think it will only take one or two games before high school football in Meriden will be shut down. I'm just being a realist.