ELLIS – Ellis USD 388 announced on its website Tuesday that a coach and a student-athlete have tested positive for coronavirus.
The junior high football coach who tested positive was last at practice on Friday and will remain so until cleared by medical staff. Tuesday and Wednesday practices for the Ellis Junior High football team have been canceled.
"Usd 388 will be working with Ellis County Health to contact trace individuals considers close contacts," Superintendent Corey Burton said in the announcement.
In addition, a soccer player, last at practice on Friday, also tested positive. With practices for the soccer team occurring at Thomas More Prep-Marian facilities, all Ellis soccer players and the coach have been determined to be close contacts and will quarantine for 14 days.
Read the entire message to the district below:
We have learned today that one of our junior high school football
coaches has tested positive for Coronavirus. The coach was last at
practice on Friday, August 21st and will be out of practice until
cleared by medical staff. The Ellis Junior High Football team will NOT
practice on Tuesday, August 25th and Wednesday, August 26th. Junior
high football pictures will be rescheduled. USD 388 will be working
with Ellis County Health to contact trace individuals considered close
contacts.
We have also learned that one of our soccer
players has tested positive for Coronavirus. This student was last at
practice on Friday, August 21st. This player has been isolated and
will not return to play until cleared. Due to our transportation of
Ellis players to TMP for practice each day, all Ellis players and coach
were determined to be a close contact to this positive case. All other
Ellis players and coach will be quarantined for 14 days.
We are alerting you to this development
because we believe that open communication and district health is
important. We are working closely with the Ellis County Health
Department (ECHD) to keep our students and staff as safe as possible.
In the meantime, know that USD 388 will
continue with our safety and health protocols. These protocols
include masks, sanitizing hands, wiping down equipment and other
sanitizing processes.
In the interim, if you feel you are showing
signs and symptoms of Covid-19, we encourage you to seek medical advice
and contact the Ellis County Health Department or contact your primary
medical provider for more information. Ellis County Health can be
reached at (785) 628-9440.
We are committed to providing a safe and
healthy educational experience and work environment for all of our
students, athletes, and employees. We also endeavor to be a positive
service to our community. It is in the interest of those goals that we
provide this information out of an abundance of caution.
We also want to take this opportunity to
remind you that one of our core values as a district is respect for and
among our employees and students. We will treat information
regarding the identity of employees/students with suspected or confirmed
cases of COVID-19 as confidential to the extent feasible and we will
comply with applicable laws regarding the handling of such
information. Further, per district policy, we will not tolerate
harassment of, or discrimination or retaliation against, employees and
students.
Please contact Corey Burton, Superintendent at
(785) 726-4281 if you have any questions or concerns.
For more information about COVID-19, please visit the CDC website at: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html