As confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county have been on the rise in recent weeks, its sports teams have not been spared.
Gilmer High School athletic director Matt Johnson informed the Times-Courier last Thursday morning of positive test results within the GHS boys basketball and wrestling programs, which forced its athletes into quarantine.
By Monday, Johnson said GHS girls basketball had also been exposed to the virus and all athletic events at the school are canceled for the week.
“In our wrestling, boys and girls basketball situations, it’s all where we had an individual who tested positive and everybody was exposed,” Johnson said.
The exposure date for wrestling and boys basketball was Dec. 5 for both.
“With a Dec. 5 exposure date, this gives them a ‘return to normal’ date of Dec. 21,” Johnson said. “Under the new guidelines, there are ways they can return after day 10 with masks, but cannot compete. They can practice in masks, but not complete in games until they compete the full (14-day) quarantine.
“There is also a way they can be tested after five days and return on day eight with a mask if they have a negative test and no symptoms.”
For boys basketball, the Bobcats were on their way to West Hall last Tuesday, Dec. 8, when coach Jordan Hice received the news.
“We got all the way to the game and I got a text,” Hice said. “We decided not to play because we didn’t want to affect their team as well so we just came home.
“We had (to cancel) two games last week and three this week, and four of those were region games. It’s just been crazy. I know this is happening to other people. It just seems like it’s getting worse. As it gets worse, it’s just going to get harder and harder.”
GHS girls basketball was exposed last Thursday, Dec. 10. That moves the Lady Cats’ return to normal date to Dec. 25. The Bobcats and Lady Cats are both scheduled to play in a Christmas tournament Dec. 28-30 in Dalton. The status of that event has yet to be determined. Rescheduling and playing region games will take priority over the tournament, according to Johnson.
All but eight wrestlers were exposed on Dec. 5. Coach Josh Ghobadpoor hopes to return to practice with the bulk of his wrestlers by Wednesday.
“It’s not a great situation, but we’re going to do the best we can,” Ghobadpoor said. “I told the wrestlers we just have be psychically, mentally and emotionally tough. This was something we talked about in the early part of the year. We’re not guaranteed the next date. We have to enjoy it and work hard for it and deal with adversity.”
Wrestling will not return to the mat until after the holiday break on Jan. 2.
Downs gives COVID-19 update
Gilmer County Schools superintendent Dr. Shanna Downs discussed the uptick of confirmed cases within the system at Monday’s board of education work session.
“We’re definitely seeing a spike,” she said. “We’re going to make it to Friday to Christmas break. We may limp across the Christmas finish line for the first semester.”
Downs added, “We have 23 students out today with a confirmed positive test. This is the most we’ve had since this has started (in March). We have 331 students quarantined.
“We have 16 staff exposed but are not symptomatic and are working with a N95 mask. We have five quarantining either with symptoms or without. We have seven confirmed positives within our staff and are expecting some more test results tomorrow that will most likely have more teachers or more staff members who are positive and quarantined.”
Downs wants to keep schools open as long as possible for the betterment of its students.
“We have many students who do not want to leave school for two weeks,” she said. “School is safe, it’s the routine, it’s warm and a place our students get food and positive attention. So if we can keep it going, we’re going to keep it going.”