SACRAMENTO — Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) issued the following statement on Apr. 8, after the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) changed its guidance to allow more parents to watch their children participate in outdoor youth sports:

“CDPH’s initial guidance limiting spectators at outdoor youth events to just one parent per participant was incredibly dumb. Thankfully, the Department heard the voices of thousands of California parents who just want to be able to watch their child play the sport they love, and changed the regulations to allow full families to go watch outdoor youth sporting events.

“If our state public health officials are ever going to regain the public’s trust, they need to apply logic and common sense to their directives. It made no sense to restrict parents from watching their child play little league baseball or high school soccer when full families can go to the movies or eat out at a restaurant.

“I am proud of the parents and kids that spoke up against the department’s original spectator regulations and grateful to my colleagues for joining me in opposing these outrageous regulations.”

In March, CDPH quietly announced via an FAQ that no more than one immediate family member per participant could attend outdoor youth sporting events. Cunningham and a dozen other Assemblymembers authored a letter to CDPH Director Dr. Tómas Aragón to change its guidance late last month.

New CDPH guidance on spectators at youth sports events is now connected to already-existing guidance on outdoor live events and performances.