Residents across New Mexico faced confusion over masking requirements for high school athletes involved in outdoor sports, KTSM reported.
The New Mexico Public Education department clarified that all four fall sports in the state — football, cross country, volleyball and soccer — recommend masks, but they are not required.
"I can tell you, I had been pestering PED and the DOH for an answer to why this decision was made,” Albuquerque Journal editor James Yodice posted on Twitter. “Nobody could answer me. They deferred to CDC, but there is no language from the CDC that I could find that specifically said outdoor athletes had to mask up. Then, boom, a change."
With at least two El Paso schools scheduled to open the season this week in New Mexico, fans are also expected to be masked.