Four local basketball teams have temporarily shut down operations due to separate COVID-19-related incidents.
Over the past two weeks, the varsity boys and girls teams at Columbus North, the varsity boys team at Columbus East, and the eighth-grade boys team at Central Middle School have come into contact with positive cases.
But it wasn’t a member of the coaching staff or a parent within one of the programs that was linked to the virus — it was from players on opposing teams.
All programs involved in the games are doing the right thing, as they’re being quarantined for 14 days before returning to practices.
In recent weeks, many have called for county governments to shut down winter athletics until the pandemic’s conditions improve.
Under Gov. Eric Holcomb’s most recent directive, counties falling within the orange, yellow, or blue categories have been permitted 25% capacity in consultation with local health departments. Additionally, counties in the red are allowed to have participants, but are limited to support personnel and parents/guardians plus their minor children. In the same order, Holcomb says that all social gatherings — outside of the K-12 extracurriculars — must be limited to 50 people in orange counties and 25 for red.
The color-coded map by the Indiana State Department of Health, which will update at noon today, last showed that all counties were at least orange and 36 counties were in the red.
The recent news proved that no matter how many precautions are taken, the threat of COVID-19 is always present when any type of social gathering takes place.
Both sides have valid concerns surrounding whether or not sports should continue, but there’s no easy answer to the issue.
Some critics argue the 25% capacity should not be allowed when all other social events have a strict cap. Many feel a double standard is taking place by allowing exceptions for one activity over another.
Those critics are correct in their assessment, as Holcomb himself said the state is picking and choosing what the rules are based on targeted data. Last Wednesday, Dr. Kristina Box, Indiana state health commissioner, said the difference between athletic events and other social gatherings is that there is more space to socially distance, and mask compliance is usually high.
Those in favor of keeping sports going also make valid points. The physical, mental and social benefits of participating in youth sports is undisputed, and are especially helpful to student-athletes during this difficult time.
Some schools have already moved to the policy of allowing just essential personnel and immediate family members into games. That approach, while not ideal, could prove the safest option moving forward. Thankfully some schools, like Columbus East and North, are already livestreaming many events, so fans can stay connected to a lot of the action.
As long as rules are being followed by patrons, and schools are strictly enforcing capacity limits, distancing and masking rules, athletics should continue for the time being.
