SPORTS

Breaking down recent COVID scare

By ALEX SPONSELLER
Posted 10/28/20

By ALEX SPONSELLER As the Smithfield cross country team is moving past its recent COVID-19 outbreak, a new batch of soccer teams will be forced to miss action. Sources confirmed to the Beacon on Wednesday afternoon that the Bishop Hendricken, Pilgrim and

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SPORTS

Breaking down recent COVID scare

Posted

By ALEX SPONSELLER As the Smithfield cross country team is moving past its recent COVID-19 outbreak, a new batch of soccer teams will be forced to miss action.

Sources confirmed to the Beacon on Wednesday afternoon that the Bishop Hendricken, Pilgrim and La Salle boys soccer teams will be postponing play through at least Oct. 29 after a player on Hendricken tested positive for COVID-19. Pilgrim competed against Hendricken prior to the positive test, however, the teams were in contact during the five-day window in which a person could be contagious prior to testing positive.

The families of all student-athletes have been in contact with the Rhode Island Department of Health regarding protocol, which includes a 14-day quarantine. The outbreak is not expected to be season-threatening, but all three teams will continue to be monitored for additional cases which could lead to other teams being shut down. There were no additional positive tests from any school as of Wednesday afternoon.

The season is expected to wrap up mid-November, and sources believe that the outbreak will not force the schedule to be pushed back further.

“I met with the kids while they were getting ready for practice, the coaching staff explained to the kids what was happening. We then provided the contacts of the kids to the Department of Health so they could contact them personally to give them instructions on what needs to be done with testing and things of that nature,” said Warwick Athletic Director Ken Rix.

The Pats most recently played Toll Gate on Saturday, then the Titans faced Cranston East the following day. Neither team will be subject to quarantine since the Department of Health requires only teams that have been in direct contact with the player that tested positive to take action.

“As far as Pilgrim is concerned, the boys will be in quarantine 14 days from the time they played Hendricken, so they will be in quarantine until the 28th and we can start practicing on the 29th,” said Rix. “I’ve already rescheduled all the games. We will have a lot of games in a two-week period, but it is what it is. We have a timeframe in which these games need to be played. It will force a few three-game weeks, but that is really no different than what the schedule would have been pre-COVID. If someone gets sick from Pilgrim then things will change, but right now we are planning on being back on the 29th.”

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