Orofino now has athlete test positive for COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to hit the high school athletics community in a big way. On Tuesday, COVID-19 found its way back to Orofino.

For the second time this school year, the Orofino school district had a case of the coronavirus, this time among a high school athlete. Because of that, all extracurricular activities for the week were put on hold, and school will be conducted remotely today and Thursday.

“We’re doing everything we can to mitigate potential exposure while getting students back to school and activities as soon as possible,” Orofino Junior/Senior High School prinicpal Brian Lee said. “(The students and athletes) deserve better. That’s why if we can get things done quickly, we can get them back to it as quickly as possible. But if we let things go, it will shut seasons down. So we just have to do everything we can to have as small of an impact as possible.”

It is the second known case of COVID-19 in the district. On Sept. 4, the district announced a confirmed case at the high school and had the student body switch to online learning. As of Sept. 14, students at Orofino High School and Orofino Elementary School were required to wear masks for a few weeks, placing them in the “yellow phase.”

At the time, a number of students and teachers at the high school had tested positive for the virus.

But this is the first known athlete who had a confirmed positive result among the student body. It’s also at a time when COVID-19 has been dangerously on the rise in the state, in particular, and among the high school athletic community, in general.

This is the fifth known case of the coronavirus having an impact in this area on high school sports, the third dealing with an athlete, and the fourth incident in just 11 days. On Sept. 11, it was revealed a Grangeville football player tested positive for the coronavirus. On Sept. 18, a football coach at Genesee High School told that district he had a positive result. On Thursday, it was learned a player on the Lewiston High School ­freshman team tested positive for COVID-19. Finally on Sunday, a Potlatch volleyball coach informed the district of a positive result.

Because of the positive result in Orofino, practices and games have been called off for the week. Those games included the C team volleyball match at 5:30 p.m. today at Lewiston, Thursday’s senior night volleyball match at home against Timberline as well as the boys’ soccer match at Grangeville, the football team’s game at 7 p.m. Friday at Priest River as well as the boys’ soccer team’s match at Coeur d’Alene Charter at 4 p.m. the same day, and Saturday’s volleyball match at Lapwai.

The name of the athlete who tested positive is being withheld because of privacy laws. Lee also withheld the sport in which the athlete participates.

“This is not fun for anyone,” first-year athletic director Kathleen Tetwiler said. “We really want to have the opportunity for our students to play and be involved in activities. And again, some of this is we don’t have total control over what our kids are doing outside of school. Unfortunately, some of this seems to be more reactive.”

Lee said the school district found out about the positive result Monday. He said the athlete had not participated in any events during the weekend.

Lee and Tetwiler each said the school district is working closely with the Public Health - Idaho North Central District office on mitigating factors, and the two entities would be working hand-in-hand to make sure all involved — student-athletes, coaches and parents — would get needed and timely information as well as what to do moving forward. Tetwiler added the district has been in contact with schools Orofino recently has played to inform them of the results.

“We have increased our sanitation with equipment,” Tetwiler said. “We have encouraged social distancing and masking, and we’re just taking things day by day.”

All of this is in adherence to Idaho High School Activities Association and National Federation of High School medical protocols.

“We try to be as transparent as we can without revealing any private information of anybody,” Lee said. “We’re disappointed to have to cancel any athletics because, obviously, we pride ourselves on being able to get the students active.”

Tetwiler hopes activities can resume next week but just is not sure they will be able to.

“I wish I had that answer, and I just don’t have that answer,” Tetwiler said. “I wish that I could say Monday morning that we’d all be well and good to go. But I just don’t know.

“I do hate it for the kids too, but I also feel like there’s an obligation to keep the kids safe and if that means we don’t play a game and we’re keeping kids safe, then that’s the choice we are making.”

Walden may be reached at (208) 848-2258, dwalden@lmtribune.com, or on Twitter at @waldo9939.