The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has issued a new Gatherings and Face Mask Order (New Order). The New Order, effective on Monday, February 8, 2021, at 12:01 a.m., permits contact sport practice and competition when wearing a mask. The January 22, 2021, Gatherings and Face Mask Order (Prior Order), will remain in effect until February 7, 2021.
The New Order permits practice and competition for contact sports. If the participants remain masked, no testing is required. If the participants are not masked, all participants must be tested consistent with MDHHS’s document entitled Guidance for Athletics, which is expected to be issued February 7, 2021. Contact sports are prohibited, however, if participants cannot maintain six feet of distance from each other when not engaged in play.
Contact sports is defined to include “sports involving more than occasional and fleeting contact, including: football; basketball; rugby; field hockey; soccer; lacrosse; wrestling; hockey; boxing; futsal; martial arts with opponents; and other sports meeting those criteria.” The New Order also defines competition to include a “game of skill played between opposing teams,” and practice as a “training session for a game of skill, involving only members of a single team.”
The recreational facilities gathering limitations are still in place. For more detail on the gathering limitations at recreational facilities, please read Warner’s prior eAlert issued on January 22, entitled “New Gathering Rules Provide for a Return to Indoor Dining.”
Helpful Links
In addition, below are links to various summaries issued by the MDHHS:
Warner continues to follow COVID-19 updates. For additional information or questions about the New Order or any COVID-19-related issues, please contact a member of our COVID-19 service team: Michael Azzi, Amanda Fielder, Monique Field-Foster, Matthew Johnson or Ford Turrell.
