Douglass football player tests positive for COVID-19; game canceled

A Frederick Douglass High School football player has tested positive for COVID-19, Fayette district spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said.

Great Crossing High School announced Thursday morning that its football game against Douglass scheduled for Friday night has been canceled.

Deffendall said Thursday night that the district received information that a member of the Frederick Douglass football team had received a positive test for COVID-19 and, “out of an abundance of caution, we canceled practice.“

School and district staff strictly followed the Fayette County Return to Athletics Guidelines, which outlines the response to a positive case. Steps include contact tracing, notification, quarantine requirements as appropriate, and deep cleaning, she said.

“The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department has determined that none of our players had what they consider ‘close contact’ with the infected individual, so no quarantines are necessary and the team is allowed to continue to practice and play,” Deffendall said.

The Herald-Leader’s reporting partner, WKYT, reported the Douglass COVID-19 case was announced in a letter sent to parents from Principal Lester Diaz in which he stated the student is at home recovering.

Despite the cancellation, it does not appear that the entire Douglass team is affected. Thursday afternoon, the team posted on Twitter and an email service for football coaches that it is seeking a replacement opponent for Friday night.

That also could mean the Broncos will keep their scheduled game against Montgomery County on Oct. 23 and not observe a 14-day isolation period as other teams have done this season as stipulated by KHSAA and KDPH guidelines. Some teams have been able to play on despite cases on their coaching staffs or teams because of safety measures in place, such as masking.

Sports cancellations due to sporadic COVID-19 cases and contacts or concerns about the Kentucky Department of Public Health’s COVID incidence rate map have occurred throughout the high school sports season in almost every sport.

Tates Creek’s volleyball team sat out two weeks in midseason due to a COVID-19 concern, but resumed play on Oct. 7 and has continued without incident. Lexington Catholic’s volleyball team also had a “COVID cancellation” during that stretch.

Earlier this season, the Douglass football game against Scott County, another district rival, was canceled over Scott County’s concern about Fayette County’s status as a “red” county on the incidence rate map. Fayette County’s status has improved to “orange” since, meaning the virus is still a problem but less widespread.

This week, the KHSAA issued guidance on sports scheduling and postseason implications of COVID-19 cancellations, specifically referring to games that involve teams in “red” counties. Teams in those areas face no statewide ban on playing, and the KHSAA has stipulated they must be allowed to participate in the postseason.

Having actual cases or contacts on a team are different, however. “It has long been anticipated that an ill-timed quarantine or isolation period might end a season if schools cannot find additional scheduling options,” the KHSAA’s guidance states.

That has been the case for about a half-dozen soccer teams who did not participate in this year’s postseason. The football season extends into November, so it’s likely that Douglass will be able to resume play and possibly reschedule the Great Crossing game.

This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 12:18 PM.