SACRAMENTO – Football, volleyball and other popular high school sports will remain on hold until at least Jan. 25 as cases of the coronavirus continue to surge in the state, according to new guidance released by the California Department of Public Health on Monday.

The state’s four-tier coronavirus tracking system underpins the long-awaited guidance for when outdoor and indoor youth and recreational adult sports can resume. “High-contact” outdoor sports such as football and soccer can only be played in counties that are in the orange, or moderate, tier. As of Monday, 54 counties, including the nine that make up the Bay Area, were in the purple, or widespread, tier; three were in the red, or substantial, tier; and one was in the orange tier.

The guidance defines high-contact sports as team sports with frequent or sustained close contact between participants and high probability that respiratory particles will be transmitted between participants; moderate-contact sports as team sports that can be played with only incidental or intermittent close contact between participants; and low-contact sports as individual or small group sports where contact within six feet of other participants can be avoided.

Inter-team competition will not be allowed in the state until Jan. 25 at the earliest, according to the guidance.

Justin Alumbaugh, head football coach at De La Salle High School in Concord, wasn’t surprised to see his sport on the lower end of the return-to-play classification.

“A lot of that makes sense,” Alumbaugh said in a telephone interview. “It’s going to be a challenge, but at least it’s doable. Now we’re given something that we can work with. That was something that we were really, really, really needing and we got it.”

“Now it’s up to us to start implementing what’s going on,” Alumbaugh said. “It’ll be interesting to see what the (California Interscholastic Federation) does with this – if they have to move (sports) around.”

Indoor basketball faces a tougher challenge. It was placed in the yellow, or minimal, tier. The guidance states that indoor sports are higher risk than outdoor sports because of reduced ventilation.

Sports that can be played in the purple tier include cross county, golf, swimming and diving, tennis, and track and field.

Below are the followings sports allowed in each tier.

Widespread tier (purple)

Outdoor low-contact sports

ArcheryBadmintonBikingBocceCorn holeCross countryDance (no contact)Disc golfGolfIce and roller skating (no contact)Lawn bowlingMartial arts (no contact)Physical training programsPickelball (singles)Rowing/crew (with one person)RunningShuffleboardSkeet shootingSkiing and snowboardingSnowshoeingSwimming and divingTrack and fieldWalking and hiking

Substantial tier (red)

Outdoor moderate-contact sports

BaseballCheerleadingDodgeballField hockeyGymnasticsKickballLacross (girls/women)Pickleball (doubles)Softball

Moderate tier (orange)

Outdoor high-contact sports

BasketballFootballIce hockeyLacrosse (boys/men)RugbyRowing/crew (with two or more people)SoccerVolleyballWater polo

Indoor low-contact sports

BadmintonCurlingDance (no contact)GymnasticsIce skating (individual)Physical trainingPickleball (singles)Swimming and divingTennisTrack and fieldVolleyball

Minimal tier (yellow)

Indoor moderate-contact sports

CheerleadingDance (intermittent contact)DodgeballKickballPickleball (doubles)RacquetballSquash

Indoor high-contact sports

BasketballBoxingIce hockeyIce skating (pairs)Martial artsRoller derbySoccerWater poloWrestling

Check back for updates.