A dozen members of the varsity volleyball team at Chattooga High School in Chattooga County, Georgia, have been told to quarantine for 14 days after one team member tested positive for COVID-19 a day after a tournament.
Chattooga High Athletic Director Jeremy Heathcock said the team played in a tournament at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School in Catoosa County on Saturday.
The next day, a player on the team told Heathcock she was showing symptoms. On Monday, that same player got a rapid COVID-19 test and the result came back positive.
About 12 players and three coaches started to quarantine at home on Monday. The team will not be able to play until at least Sept. 1.
Emily Mobbs, principal at Chattooga High, said the student athletes will now attend classes from home and use the school's virtual program.
The news comes a day after the superintendent for Dade County Schools announced 71 people were in quarantine after members of two volleyball teams and the high school's cheerleading team tested positive. A total of 14 people with the school district had tested positive as of Tuesday afternoon.
There were multiple teams at the tournament, but Heathcock said that, according to guidelines from the state's department of health, the player was never within 6 feet of a player from another school for 15 minutes.
The other fall sports teams will continue to practice as scheduled, Heathcock said.
Elsewhere in Chattooga County, an elementary class in the Trion City Schools system has been quarantined after a student tested positive for the coronavirus.
Chattooga County Schools was one of the first districts in the country to reopen this fall. Superintendent Jared Hosmer said Friday that five students and one staff member had tested positive. That number does not include the volleyball player who tested positive Monday.
The county has struggled with a mild outbreak since late July. More than 160 people have tested positive in the last two weeks, which is nearly 44% of the county's total cases. On Aug. 13, the county hit a record with 32 new cases. The previous record, 21, was set the day before.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.