August 18, 2021 IMPORTANT UPDATE: The safety of our members will always be in the forefront. Due to the high increase of COVID cases the TRU Board has voted to pause full-contact trainings and games as outlined below. This hiatus will last until September 15th. Note that conditions in your area may change during this period.
The TRU Board continues to monitor the COVID pandemic in the TRU and surrounding areas, primarily the availability of available ICU beds, and can vote to extend or shorten the pause as needed.
- Texas:
- In Texas, the pause applies in any “Trauma Service Area” where the “COVID % Capacity”
“GA-32 COVID % Capacity”is not under 15% for a period 7 days prior to the date of the full-contact training. You can check the “COVID % Capacity” for your TSA by clicking on the Texas Combined Hospital Data over Time by Trauma Service Area (TSA). As of August 16, 2021, only Midland/Odessa, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls TSAs were under the 15% threshold, and numbers in all of those areas were on the rise. There should be no contact trainings in any other parts of the state.- UPDATE 9/21: We’ve taken the above raw data and placed it into an easier to view chart that shows trends.
- In Texas, the pause applies in any “Trauma Service Area” where the “COVID % Capacity”
- Louisiana:
- In Louisiana, the percentage of available hospital beds in the LDH Region (Caddo Parish is Region 7) in which the training will be held must be greater than 15% for a period of 7 days prior to the contact practice. The percentage of available hospital beds by LDH Region can be calculated by toggling the Hospital Beds Available chart. As of August 16, 2021, 20% of hospital beds in LDH Region 7 are available, so contact trainings are still permitted in Shreveport.
- Arkansas:
- In Arkansas, the percentage of hospital beds in the Hospital Association Region in which the practice is to be held must be under 15% of total “Staff Bed Capacity” for 7 days prior to the contact training. The percentage of available hospital beds by Hospital Association Region can be calculated by clicking on your Hospital Association Region. As of August 16, 2021, “Staff Bed Capacity” is below the above threshold, so contact trainings are still permitted in Little Rock.
- Oklahoma:
- In Oklahoma, if the percentage of ICU beds utilized is over 85%, the pause on contact trainings will be in effect. You can check the percentage of ICU beds utilized at this site: https://covidactnow.org/us/oklahoma-ok/county/oklahoma_county/?s=23221242 or https://data.oklahoman.com/covid-19-hospital-capacity/. As of August 17, 2021, the percentage of ICU beds utilized in Oklahoma is 87%, so contact trainings are suspended.
- Exemptions:
- The TRU recognizes the importance of vaccinations in combating the spread of COVID-19, and continues to recommend that all members get vaccinated for the safety of their rugby mates and community. If clubs subject to the pause based on the criteria above wish to host contact practices, they only need to provide proof of vaccination status or *COVID antibody tests for all participating members AND ICU utilization must be below the critical threshold in your area.
- Club administrators or COVID officers shall submit a roster of vaccinated persons/persons with positive antibody tests to admin@texasrugbyunion.com if they’d like to be considered for allowing contact practices. Players can also self submit their vaccination or antibody status by uploading documentation via a Google form.
Clubs who do not provide this information may host in-person practices following the TRU Stage 3 Guidelines; requiring temperature checks, social distancing, masks are required for coaches and administrators and recommended for all individuals.
*Must provide an antibody or serology test result from the last six months. Testing resources vary by state or local health departments or healthcare professionals.