Pope football COVID-19 case Archives

Pope High School officials notified the school community on Monday that a person involved with the varsity football program has tested positive for COVID-19.

The message did not specify whether the individual was a player, coach or a staff member, and said that Cobb and Douglas Public Health “has classified this case as a low-risk exposure.”

The Pope message said that “the families that may have been potentially impacted have been notified” and that “this low-risk exposure does not require isolation or quarantine of asymptomatic individuals.”

Football workouts have resumed, the message said, and “we will continue to follow the recommended social distancing and sanitary protocols recommended by DPH, GHSA, and the CCSD.”

The MDJ reported that people involved with the Hillgrove and McEachern football teams also have tested positive for COVID-19, and workouts are continuing at those schools.

High school football teams in the Cobb County School District began workouts last week, along with other athletes in fall sports (softball and cross country), but they are limited to weight-training and conditioning activities.

Those workouts also are 100 percent voluntary, according to Cobb schools athletic director Don Baker.

The CCSD guidance for the workouts includes closed locker rooms and water fountains, and coaches and players are subject to regular temperature checks and must answer COVID-19 exposure questions.

A school district spokeswoman said Tuesday that “all protocols recommended by public health officials are being followed including deep cleaning and fogging of all weight rooms in Cobb County high schools.”

The Georgia High School Association regulations limit those workouts to a total of 20, and no more than 20 people at a time can be involved in an activity at one time in the same facility.

The high school football season is scheduled to begin in late August.