MOUNTAIN PINE -- Athletic workouts at Mountain Pine School District were resumed Tuesday after being suspended for 14 days due to an unidentified individual involved with the athletic program testing positive for COVID-19.
The Red Devils canceled practices for all sports for two weeks because of the potential exposure to the virus by students and personnel linked to the school's athletic department.
Mountain Pine athletic director James Galarza confirmed that for those who have returned to practice, complete and continuous adherence to the guidelines from the Arkansas Activities Association and the Arkansas Department off Health is a top priority, as it was before the suspension.
"They went fine," Galarza noted of the district's workouts after the restart. "We did not have as many student-athletes return yet, but we've had several (in) both girls and the boys' programs. We've had the coaches work with them, and of course, we're continuing to follow the guidelines as far as, you know, spraying, wearing masks and things like that."
Both boys and girls' teams alternate use of the district's practice facilities by cooperating with a strict schedule informing the athletes of when they are allowed to be there.
Galarza said that there was a slight, yet noticeable decrease in attendance for boys' athletics in their return.
"Right now the boys that are participating in sports, they're coming in in the morning on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday," he explained. "Girls are coming in in the afternoon. ... The girls overall have had real good participation. With the boys, it seems like we've lost a few but not a lot. Of course with the Fourth of July holiday, we anticipated there were several that were probably vacationing or out of town."
With every member of the Mountain Pine athletic program working even harder to stay healthy and safe, Galarza hopes that the district will see no additional positive tests going forward.
"At this point, we have had nobody with a high temp that we had to turn back," he added. "It hasn't been that long, but no scares or any concerns at this point. Again, we're like everybody else. We just, unfortunately, even following these guidelines, just have to play it by ear and see and hope that no one else tests positive."