Dozens of Beaufort County football players, cheerleaders quarantined after COVID-19 cases
Dozens of Beaufort County School District athletes from two schools are in quarantine after two people tested positive for COVID-19, district spokesperson Candace Bruder confirmed Friday.
At least one member of the Hilton Head Island High School football program tested positive for COVID-19, so 18 players are in quarantine, postponing the start of their 2020 season. The person who tested positive was a part-time employee who had close contact with the team, not a player, Bruder said.
Two Beaufort High School cheerleaders also tested positive, so both J.V. and varsity teams — which have a total of 48 members — were asked to quarantine.
It’s unclear when the quarantines began for each team.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control recommends a 14-day quarantine period from the time of the last exposure to the person with COVID-19.
The Beaufort and Hilton Head Island game, which was set for Sept. 25, will be rescheduled for Oct. 30. Beaufort will travel to Lexington next week to open the season. Lexington had its season opener with River Bluff postponed after River Bluff players tested positive.
S.C. high school teams are playing a shortened seven-game season during the coronavirus pandemic, and teams are playing contests in the region first. Those games help determine playoff seeding. The season is starting a little more than a month later than originally planned.
There are 32 states playing a fall football season — 17 of those are modified or shorter seasons.
The Hilton Head-Beaufort game is the latest contest across the state to be postponed or canceled because of COVID-19. Others include Camden-Lakewood, Swansea-Strom Thurmond, Union County-Clinton and Broome-Emerald.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 10:20 AM.
