Minus 35 virus cases, HVA football continues
Knox Catholic halts practice until July 30
While Knoxville Catholic high school football workouts have been shut down until Thursday, July 30, due to a KCHS player testing positive for the coronavirus, Hardin Valley Academy moves forward despite an issue 35 times bigger.
Because HVA football workouts are divided into three units — each participating separately at different times from the other two units — among its roughly 100 student-athletes, the school was able to contain a coronavirus outbreak detected by school officials Wednesday, July 15.
As a result, 35 players either contracted COVID-19, had virus symptoms or because they were in close contact with a virus-infected player are in quarantine — most for at least “another nine days I believe,” Bryan Brown, HVA athletic director, said Monday, July 20.
However, concerning a handful of players among this group of 35, “Some of them are a little bit different because they were not there on some of the days, so some of those players will be coming back sooner,” Brown added.
“It’s based on the attendance records of when they were in practice or not in practice.”
Though admitting the number in quarantine is high, Brown added the other HVA players “are just conditioning right now. Those (quarantined) boys who feel fine can be doing that on their own at home.”
Following orders
Because of orders sent down by Gov. Bill Lee concerning physical contact for all TSSAA teams regardless of their virus status until at least Aug. 29, “They’re not allowed to hit or scrimmage or any stuff like that,” Brown said.
Following all TSSAA and Knox County Schools mandates concerning COVID-19 prevention, the Hawks AD said, “You have to ask a series of questions of the athletes every day when they come in: are they feeling fine? Have they been exposed to anybody with COVID? Are the people in their family feeling fine?”
Moreover, between team workout shifts, “They have been sanitizing the weight room and any equipment they’ve been using, and equipment on the field after each person uses it,” Brown said. “They’ve not been able to be in the locker rooms; we’ve not been able to provide them with water, they have to have their own water bottles.”
In addition, “You are not required to take temperatures, but our football team was taking them,” he added.
