TOLEDO, Ohio — Some members of St. John's Jesuit football team have been put on quarantine, according to the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department on Thursday, after it was learned that a member of the Findlay varsity football team, whom the Titans played against last week, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Any defensive player who participated in at least one snap against Findlay will be required to quarantine for 14 days. Earlier on Thursday, it was said the whole team would need to quarantine, but that was clarified later in the afternoon.
The offensive side of the ball can return to school and practice as normal.
The health department is working on contact tracing to further figure out who had prolonged exposure to the offensive-side player from Findlay who tested positive for COVID-19.
Health Commissioner Eric Zgodzinski was asked why the St. John's football team can't be tested right now, and then have players who test negative go back to playing. He said that the reason is that a test shows a snapshot of how the player is or isn't experiencing the virus at that exact point in time.
If a player tests negative, it could be because the virus has not yet manifested and he could show as positive later, he said. A two-week period of quarantine is necessary, Zgodzinski said, in order to ensure that the virus has had time to be detected (if a person were to contract it) or to show that a person is clear of it.
The Findlay varsity football team and volleyball program each had one positive COVID-19 test, prompting cancellations and quarantines for the varsity program and the entire volleyball program, grades 9-12.
St. John’s is scheduled to play Fremont Ross next week. They are hoping to move that game to Sunday so they can get it played and only miss one game.