Robbinsville girls basketball forced to quarantine
Robbinsville – It was just a matter of time before the global pandemic affected local sports.
Following the Jan. 5 home season opener with Rosman, a player for the Lady Tigers tested positive for COVID-19. The athlete also had a mask exemption and logged considerable minutes in the contest. Robbinsville’s team was notified the next morning during practice and immediately left to begin a quarantine.
The Lady Knights went Monday to undergo sendoff testing, which can take several days to return.
“It’s tough news for an athlete right now, because you’ve sat there all offseason and tried to plan on this maybe happening at some point, but little did you think it would happen after the first game,” Robbinsville head coach Lucas Ford said. “None of our girls have had any symptoms.”
Once the Knights get their test results back, those negative can resume practice. Anyone that tests positive will have to stay under quarantine, plus clear an additional seven-day “return to play” quarantine, as mandated by MedWest Health System, which oversees Andrews, Hayesville, Murphy, Robbinsville and Swain County. Cherokee and Rosman fall under the Mission Healthcare System umbrella.
Rosman was hit with the virus during volleyball season, so the remaining Lady Tigers were cleared to continue play after rapid testing was administered by the Transylvania County Health Department on Jan. 6.
All North Carolina teams adhere to the protocols set in place by their respective county health department, which can also make things challenging.
“Everybody is on a different page,” Ford added. “In a perfect world, there would be one set rule, but this is ever changing. Everybody is doing the best they can with what they have to work with.”
In an already shortened season, Robbinsville has been forced to reschedule two Smoky Mountain Conference games (Hayesville and Cherokee) as well as a non-conference pairing with Hiwassee Dam.
“Kudos to our health department and superintendent; they’re trying to do their part to keep everybody here safe,” Ford added. “I understand why we were quarantined. We err on the side of caution.
“There is no game, no sport, no win, worth any of these kids’ lives.”
According to Jan. 11’s data, Graham County is at 475 positive cases, an increase of 50 from Jan. 4. The county ranks 94th out of the 100 in North Carolina, ahead of Tyrrell (205), Camden (360), Gates (428), Jones (467) and Hyde (472) counties.