COOPER CITY, Fla. – Fall sports are back at Broward County schools, but COVID-19 is already having an impact on practices.
Up until the beginning of this week student athletes were only permitted to participate in strength and conditioning, both indoors and outdoors.
Now that the district has moved to phase three, it means those student athletes can begin practicing, but Local 10 News learned it has already resulted in the suspension of practice at two schools.
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie toured Cooper City High School Wednesday afternoon as the district moved into phase 3 of return to play for high school sports.
“Many of our students live for these activities and we wanted to make sure we were able to do this in a way that is safe,” Runcie said.
The superintendent got a firsthand look at how fall sports, such as football, girls volleyball and cross country, will begin their practices, all while following strict protocols and guidelines related to COVID-19.
Practices will be limited to two hours per day, students must have their temperature checked before practice and must wear facial coverings at all times, except when participating in workouts and practices.
Student athletes started their practices at the beginning of the week, following several positive COVID-19 cases that have already been reported and confirmed by the Florida Department of Health within the district.
A total of eight positive cases since in-class learning began, causing some practices to already be suspended.
“We have suspended practices at two schools,” Runcie said. "It’s the football program at Western High School for the junior varsity, and we also had a case with a cheerleader at Cypress Bay High School.