Portage Central to start testing basketball players for COVID-19 after quarantine extension

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Banners hang from the rafters of Portage Central's gymnasium in this 2011 file photo.Tom Haroldson

PORTAGE, MI - Portage Central has extended its pause on all levels of boys and girls basketball by one week after more players tested positive for COVID-19 since the Mustangs began their first 10-day quarantine on Feb. 23.

Five players -- two from the girls junior varsity team, one from the boys varsity team, one from the girls varsity team and one from the girls freshman team -- tested positive for COVID-19 after an initial set of four positive tests last week prompted a 10-day quarantine that was set to expire on March 1.

Now, the freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams won’t return to practice until Monday, March 8.

When the teams do return, Portage Central will be administering weekly rapid antigen COVID-19 tests to its basketball players as part of a program from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services that gives intermediate school districts one free coronavirus tests per athlete per week.

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The girls varsity team, which canceled three games during its first quarantine period, will miss upcoming contests against Mattawan, Richland Gull lake and Kalamazoo Central, before returning to action on Thursday, March 11 against St. Joseph.

The boys varsity team missed Friday’s game against Portage Northern as a result of its initial 10-day quarantine, and now the Mustangs will skip Mattawan and Battle Creek Lakeview, before returning to the court on Friday, March 12 at St. Joseph.

The extended quarantine didn’t apply to every player on Portage Central’s rosters due to the fact that they hadn’t been around each other during the first quarantine, but athletic director Joe Wallace, girls varsity coach Rob Brown and boys varsity coach Ray Robinson decided it was best to take their time in getting back together to combat the spread among the teams, Portage Central principal Eric Alburtus said.

“Obviously, the thing we don’t want to have happen is have, No. 1, any more of our kids pick up the virus, but also we don’t want kids in other schools to pick up the virus, and then have that virus spread even more to other schools,” Alburtus said. “(Wallace, Brown and Robinson) had a long conversation about it, and the more they talked about it, the more they thought the responsible thing to do is to shut it down, get all of our kids healthy, give them a few days of practice so that they can have their legs under them, because they obviously won’t be able to do much when they’re in quarantine.”

Alburtus said all Portage Central’s student-athletes that have tested positive for COVID-19 are experiencing minor symptoms at worst, while some of their parents that have contracted the virus are experiencing more acute symptoms.

“We have some kids who had some pretty minor symptoms and some who are asymptomatic,” Alburtus said. “We have some parents now who have some symptoms that are less mild, but as far as our kids are concerned, they’ve done pretty well.”

While the Portage Central girls varsity team has been sidelined since its first two positive COVID-19 tests came in on Tuesday, Feb. 23, the varsity boys played Battle Creek Central that night, then started quarantine on Wednesday, Feb. 24, after learning one of their players tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday night.

That player didn’t compete against the Bearcats and hadn’t been in close contact with his teammates since Saturday, Feb. 20, but another member of Portage Central’s boys varsity team tested positive Friday.

Battle Creek Public Schools announced Monday that four players on the Bearcats’ varsity and JV squads have either tested positive or are presumed to be positive for COVID-19.

Battle Creek Central principal Noah Hollander declined to say whether those four cases are linked to Portage Central’s positive cases, and a spokesperson for Battle Creek Public Schools could not be reached for comment at time of publication.

A statement on the school district’s website said Battle Creek Public Schools was notified on Feb. 26 of multiple probable or confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the school community, including the four basketball team members.

“Individuals on the boy’s varsity and junior varsity basketball teams, as well as multiple others from school, have been identified as close contacts and will be quarantined until at least a 10-day period has passed from the time of potential exposure following the most recent guidance from local health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the statement said. “All games and practices occurring within this time period have been canceled. “Any potentially affected areas will undergo enhanced sanitation protocols as guided by the Health Department and CDC Guidelines in accordance with our Preparedness and Response Plan.”

Battle Creek Central canceled its boys varsity game against Battle Creek Lakeview set for Feb. 26, and has canceled the upcoming contests against Richland Gull Lake, Portage Northern and St. Joseph. The Bearcats are scheduled to return to the court on Thursday, March 11 for a home game against Kalamazoo Central.

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