According to local health officials, more than 20 people who attended a two-day high school wrestling tournament in Louisiana tested positive for the coronavirus.
The outbreak among athletes, staff and spectators comes after approximately 400 wrestlers participated in the 48th Louisiana Classic wrestling event at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center last week, The Advocate reported.
The Louisiana Health Department is now asking everyone who attended to get tested and quarantine themselves – but it doesn’t stop some schools from moving forward with other athletic events.
The Louisiana High School Athletic Association said schools are being asked to take precautions, but said several wrestling matches will go ahead as planned, the lawyer said.
“Obviously, this is extremely complicated,” associate deputy director Adam MacDowell told the paper. “As soon as I receive documents from the (Louisiana Department of Health), I will send them to our affiliated schools for further guidance.”
“What we recommend at this point, without additional communication with the LDH, is that each individual school and school program contact their local regional health director and review the protocols if they have participated in that tournament,” MacDowell said.
“I know there have been some double encounters and tournaments canceled,” he said. “But I also know that some are still in play.”
Images and videos from the Louisiana Classic show that no social distance was perceived and that while some spectators wore masks, many did not.