LHSAA Says Four Louisiana High School Football Teams Have Players Who’ve Tested Positive for Coronavirus
Louisiana High School Athletic Association executive director Eddie Bonine says that four parishes in the state have reported having a school with football players testing positive for coronavirus.
Bonine could not disclose the names of those schools or parishes, citing HIPAA privacy laws (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
He did say that the group of schools includes one parish from the Acadiana area, one outside East Baton Rouge, one in north Louisiana, and one located in southwest Louisiana.
“I’m treading on thin ice with HIPAA,” Bonine said. “I’ve been advised that all I can tell you is that it’s four parishes with one school each. They are all football players. We are in the loop as a courtesy. We do not oversee summer workouts. But if I am asked if there are cases, I can speak to it accurately.
“I do anticipate more cases because of the nature of the virus. But to have cases in four parishes out of 60 so far is encouraging. The regional epidemiologists in each area have been notified and they are handling all the testing and the (contact) tracing. My understanding is that in one case there was a family gathering and a student was around another athlete. Some other programs could be impacted as well.”
All the schools that had players test positive for coronavirus shut down their practices and Bonine said that the parishes as a whole also shut down practices.
“The thing we’ve got to do now is be careful and not do anything in June or July that will jeopardize what we hope to do in the fall," says Bonine.