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Heritage High School calls off games due to COVID-19 outbreak

Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / Heritage High School's cancellation of all athletic competitions through Aug. 27 due to COVID-19 means the Generals' first two games against Catoosa County rivals Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Ringgold won't be played as scheduled.
Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / Heritage High School's cancellation of all athletic competitions through Aug. 27 due to COVID-19 means the Generals' first two games against Catoosa County rivals Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Ringgold won't be played as scheduled. Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / Heritage High School's cancellation of all athletic competitions through Aug. 27 due to COVID-19 means the Generals' first two games against Catoosa County rivals Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Ringgold won't be played as scheduled.

By Lindsey Young 3 min read

An outbreak of COVID-19 at Heritage High School this week has resulted in the suspension of athletic competition through Aug. 27, which includes football games against Catoosa County rivals Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Ringgold.

Heritage and Heritage Middle School have also returned to virtual learning in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. Catoosa County Superintendent of Schools Denia Reese posted a statement on the school’s website late Thursday after 44 students tested positive for the virus in less than a week.

“I am monitoring the spread of COVID in every school and in the district all day every day,” Reese said in the statement. “This week, we have seen a high number of positive cases at Heritage High School, which led to the mitigation strategy to close the school. HHS will not participate in any athletic competitions from Friday, August 20 through Friday, August 27. We will attempt to reschedule any games that will be missed.”

(READ MORE: This week’s Chattanooga-area high school football previews)

Heritage football coach E.K. Slaughter also released a statement to the Times Free Press in which he offered his perspective on the situation and encouragement to his disappointed players. The statement read: