The Catholic Youth Organization has extended its suspension on indoor activity to mid-January, but has determined an official date to return to such activities as basketball, the Advance/SILive.com has learned.

CYO Director of Operations Seth Peloso made the announcement in a memo to the CYO community on Tuesday. He said the target date to open up again is Jan. 15.

On Aug. 23, Peloso announced all indoor activities related to CYO’s programming would be off-limits through October because of the rise in coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant of the virus.

As promised, he updated the organization’s current status.

“As the Delta variant has set us back to start this year, recently there have been positive signs trending in our favor,’’ Peloso said in his memo. “Some may view this update as a setback, but know that the volunteer CYO parish coordinators/athletic directors have informed us of their current state of preparation for this season.

“For the majority, they will need this time to prepare their volunteers, open or extend their registrations and organize their teams. For those programs that are ahead of the curve, we thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.’’

CYO county director Mike Neely believes the fact that there’s an official date is a step in the right direction.

“I’m happy about the (decision) because we now have a date and we can start planning immediately, moving forward. This is a positive thing,’’ said Neely. “For the last 18 months, it’s been really ‘maybe’ or ‘possibly’ in terms of getting back indoors.

“Now we have a date and something to shoot for.’’

According to Neely, the plan now is for the CYO basketball season to commence — in other words, play games — on Jan. 15.

“Yes, that’s the date we’re looking to start the season,’’ the County Director added. “Right now, we’re hoping teams can get in and begin (workouts and practices) after Thanksgiving.’’

Although the amount of regular-season games each team plays will likely be cut, to an extent, the plan is to hold a full playoff schedule.

“We have 90 days to now put this all together,’’ added Neely, who said he’s interested in seeing how the Island’s CHSAA and PSAL high school teams handle the start of their respective seasons.

Peloso, meanwhile, said he plans to share an update with parish coordinators and athletic directors around the 1st of each month leading up to January to assist them with their planning. He also didn’t rule out moving the date up should statistics on COVID-19 improve.

“Though a January start date has been earmarked, if the conditions present a path forward to allow indoor activity in December and in consultation with the education office, we will communicate that in advance,’’ said Peloso in his memo. “And of course, as we have learned throughout this pandemic, should things regress we will need to adjust accordingly.’’