Hilton Head football team quarantined as Beaufort Co. schools announce new COVID cases
This story has been updated with new information on the quarantine period of the Hilton Head Island High School football team, as well as the quarantine status of coaches.
Beaufort County School District reported five new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, two of them among student-athletes whose teams were already quarantining.
One Hilton Head High School football player has tested positive for COVID-19 since the district announced last week that a part-time employee with “close contact” to the team had tested positive for the virus. Eighteen members of the football program were quarantined due to close contact with that employee.
Now, the rest of the varsity and J.V. teams — 43 additional people — are quarantined, district spokeswoman Candace Bruder said Tuesday. Two members of the coaching staff are quarantined as well.
The first group of 18, which includes two coaches, is quarantined until Sept. 28.
The second group of 43 is quarantined through Oct. 2.
At Beaufort High School, an additional cheerleader tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total of infected team members to three, Bruder said. All 48 members of the J.V. and varsity cheerleading squads are quarantining.
An additional student at Beaufort High who is not a cheerleader has tested positive for COVID-19. No close contacts were identified for that student.
Beaufort and Hilton Head High were scheduled to play each other in their football season opener on Friday. That game has been postponed to Oct. 30.
A contract employee at Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center tested positive for COVID-19 in the first case associated with the school. Two close contacts, also contract employees, were notified.
A second Coosa Elementary School staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. No close contacts were identified.
Between the new cases and previous DHEC reports, seven Beaufort County schools have reported COVID-19 cases among students and staff regularly visiting campuses.
May River High School previously identified one student case and one staff case. Coosa Elementary School now has two staff cases.
St. Gregory the Great Catholic School has recorded one faculty COVID-19 case and two student cases.
Hilton Head Christian Academy has confirmed one student case.
No charter schools in the county have confirmed cases.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 5:03 PM.