The West Bladen varsity and junior varsity football teams have canceled workouts and games due to COVID-19 protocols, Bladen County Schools announced Tuesday morning.
Three individuals associated with the program tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 13 and 45 people have been identified as close contact exposures, the school system said in a news release.
The junior varsity game on Aug. 19 and varsity game on Aug. 20 against South Columbus has been postponed and it’s uncertain if the games will be made up. A decision has not been made whether the Knights will play West Columbus on Aug. 27.
The varsity team can resume workouts Aug. 22 and the JV can resume workouts Aug. 23, according to Bladen County Schools.
The health department is investigating the case and is working with school staff to identify anyone who may have had close contact with the COVID-19 positive individuals, the news release said. Any impacted people who were determined to be in close contact with the infected individual were notified by Aug. 16. Those who were in close contact will remain off-campus for up to 10 calendar days.
On Aug. 10, the Bladen County Board of Education voted that students and staff in Bladen County Schools will not be required to wear a mask while in school, but would be strongly encouraged to do so. All students and staff would be required to wear masks when riding a bus.
“The safety and well-being of Bladen County Schools’ students and staff is always our number one priority,” Bladen County Schools said in the news release. “We are taking extra steps to ensure the safety of all. Bladen County Schools are following CDC and DHHS guidelines as well as the StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit as we continue to monitor the situation.
“Our Board is committed to the health and safety of its employees and students and supports measures that will keep all safe. Furthermore, we need everyone to do their part at school and at home to maintain social distance from others outside of their household, wear face coverings, and wash/sanitize hands often. The goal of every action in this sequence of events is to protect our students and staff and get back to learning and school activities as soon as possible.”
https://bladencounty.org/critical-race-theory-and-mask-options-cause-conflict-at-bladen-county-board-of-education-meeting/
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