The Piper school district has a second case of COVID-19 among student athletes, and will suspend all sports and conditioning from Wednesday, July 15, through July 29.
The school district reported in a social media post on Tuesday evening that a second school athlete had tested positive.
Jenny Hurley, director of human resources and communications for the district, said at this point, it will not affect any plans for the school district to reopen.
The district is hoping to resume athletic activities on July 30, she said.
The Piper district did not have any further information about what team was involved, or the source of the COVID-19 case.
The school district’s message to parents encouraged them to talk to students about hand washing, following mask guidelines, social distancing and staying home if they are sick.
The Unified Government Health Department announced an amendment to the mask order on Tuesday evening, that requires athletes using inside gyms or training facilities to wear masks.
A Health Department spokesman stated that this order was not linked to any specific instances, but it was issued largely based on confusion around the mask requiresments and the spread of COVID-19. Also, another amendment calls for children over age 5 to wear masks in child ccare, day care and schools.
“We have received many questions related to things like masks during indoor exercise. There was also some confusion related to people hearing different childcare guidelines from different places,” the Health Department spokesman stated.
Based on their analysis of current COVID-19 data, the county medical officers determined this was the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in indoor exercise and child care settings, she stated.