Elmore County announces 3 positive COVID-19 tests, football program suspended

Elmore County football is the most recent program to cancel a high school football game due to COVID-19. 

The Elmore County Board of Education released a statement Tuesday morning announcing three varsity players tested positive. Fifteen others are in self-isolation as a precaution. 

"We were losing so many players, (suspension) was the most sensible thing to do until we can get an idea of how many are going to be out," Elmore Co. principal Wes Rogers said. 

Rogers told the Montgomery Advertiser that "significant contributors" are among those in quarantine. The Panthers (1-5) were slated to face Sylacauga in a 5A matchup before the forfeit. 

The school received test results Monday morning. By 3 p.m., there were multiple positive cases. And others were symptomatic awaiting results.

When a student tests positive, Alabama’s Department of Public Health guidelines call for 10 days of isolation. The AHSAA’s own protocol requires five more days before an athlete can participate in games. The ADPH orders two weeks of isolation if a student is exposed to someone who’s tested positive. 

This is the latest set of suspensions in the River Region since last week when Wetumpka football and Elmore County volleyball had 13 combined positive tests and 21 students isolated. In mid-August, several students and employees tested positive for the virus at Elmore County. 

"This is probably going to be a broken record throughout the state all year long," Rogers said. 

Per Elmore County’s Board of Education statement, the team’s status will be examined on Oct. 5, when the team enters a scheduled bye week.