Orange County Public Schools is going to test all high school football players, coaches and athletic directors for COVID-19.
OCPS will test all of its football players, coaches, athletic directors for COVID-19 COMMENTARY
Orange County Public Schools is going to test all high school football players, coaches and athletic directors for COVID-19, multiple sources told the Orlando Sentinel.
The district-wide rapid testing will begin next week when OCPS schools are slated to kick off the 2020 football season.
Every school has been given its own test date on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. If anyone tests positive, that person cannot participate in the game.
District spokesperson Michael Ollendorff confirmed the new testing plan and added that anyone who declines to be tested cannot participate in a football game.
Some schools playing this upcoming Thursday due to Rosh Hashanah are scheduled to be tested on game day.
The testing schedule is a new challenge for coaches, who learned of the policy Thursday and will have to quickly adjust if anyone is not available to compete during games kicking off shortly after rapid testing is completed.
No other schools in the Orlando area are testing athletes for COVID-19.
Testing was discussed during an OCPS school board meeting
when the district was still debating how to safely stage football games during the coronavirus pandemic, but it was ruled out because it was deemed too expensive.
The testing program is expected to cost $1.5 million and the school district is covering the expense, two sources told the Sentinel.
It’s unclear how the school district will be paying for the testing of football players, coaches and athletic trainers at its 20 high schools.
District officials previously stated they hoped to use CARES Act funding to offset making admission to all OCPS football games free of charge for a limited size crowd. In the past, home football game revenue helped fund extensive portions of high school athletic budgets.
OCPS has made a variety of changes due to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among football teams.
Most recently, the district decided football players must either stay home for distance learning during the school day or attend virtual classes on campus within a “cohort group” that includes only teammates.
OCPS said the isolation of football players from the rest of the student body was recommended by its Medical Advisory Committee. That is advisable, the district said, because football athletes are involved in a sport that has direct contact and little ability to adequately social-distance its participants during practices and games.
Orange County schools superintendent Barbara Jenkins voiced her concerns during recent school board meetings. She said a football team that had players contract COVID -19 could quickly spread the virus across a campus.
The testing and isolation measures only impact varsity football players because OCPS has postponed football for junior varsity and ninth-grade teams’ seasons until the winter.