Fishers football practices canceled after player tests positive for COVID-19
FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — All football workouts and practices at Fishers High School were halted after a student on the football team reported testing positive for COVID-19, a district spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
The team had been practicing in “small training groups” recommended by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) during the pandemic, according to the district.
Football players in the infected student’s training group were encouraged to quarantine for two weeks and also undergo testing.
The district did not confirm how many students were in the training group.
Football activities are scheduled to resume on Monday for the team’s other training groups.
“We have advised families to monitor their athletes for any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 in the interim, and to keep them home if they are having symptoms,” Emily Pace Abbotts, a spokesperson for Hamilton Southeastern Schools, said in an emailed statement.
Sabrina Hervas, a Fishers resident who said she could watch high school football games from her front porch, expressed concerns about the district’s handling of the situation.
“Test the rest of the team as well,” she suggested. “[Some] professional sports haven’t even started. So should we be starting [local high school sports]? I personally don’t think so.”
Videos posted on the Fishers football team’s Twitter account on Monday show students working out several feet apart from each other.
In one video, most students are wearing face masks; in another video, most students do not have their mouths and noses covered.
Both videos were recorded indoors, where the novel coronavirus is believed to be more transmissible.
“I go to LA Fitness down the road and I will not set foot in there until there’s a vaccination,” Hervas said.
Amy Martin, whose daughter attends Fishers High School, was less concerned and said she felt the district’s response was appropriate.
“I think that kids are going to be tested more frequently than maybe they had in the past. So it doesn’t surprise me [that a student tested positive for COVID-19],” she told News 8.
Her daughter Erin, a rising junior, said she looked forward to attending in-person classes and going to football games with her friends in the fall.
Martin said she supported reopening local schools and resuming athletic activities, despite rising coronavirus cases in Indiana.
“I just think, with all the mental health issues that are going on with teens [who are] missing their friends, they need to be together,” she said.