Berkeley High Pauses Athletics Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

BERKELEY, CA — Berkeley High School has paused all athletics in the aftermath of three boys’ basketball players testing positive for the coronavirus, Berkeley Public Schools said in a statement.

Additional positive cases were reported Friday at Sylvia Mendez Elementary School and Monday at Rosa Parks Elementary School.

The pause of at least 48 hours started Monday, the school district said.

Students participating in boys’ basketball practices were not adhering to coronavirus guidelines, the district said.

Most student athletes were not wearing masks while engaging in rigorous basketball drills at two outdoor practices and one indoor workout last week.

Some BHS basketball players also worked out at indoor gym without masks earlier this month, district officials said.

“What happened during the basketball tryouts is not in keeping with the guidance from our Athletic Directors, who follow the guidance from both the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), including that face coverings are to be ‘worn by participants during practice, conditioning and during competition, even during heavy exertion as tolerated,’” the statement said.

“We are pausing all athletics tryouts at BHS for at least 48 hours from Monday evening, in order to conduct a thorough review of athletic practices for adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols, under the direction of the City of Berkeley Health Department. This pause includes all indoor and outdoor sports tryouts. These include badminton, soccer, lacrosse, water polo, basketball, wrestling, and volleyball.

“Our BHS students have been engaged in athletics since conditioning began this past summer, and have competed in outdoor swimming, golf, tennis, cross country, track, lacrosse, baseball, softball, and football. This is the first report of multiple cases in association with a BHS athletic team.”