Because of COVID-19 cases within the school system, Radford High School is shutting down its athletic program with two weeks to go in the high school football season.
Athletic Director Greg Wade addressed the situation on Thursday. “Due to the safety of the school, the environment and an abundance of caution, we have moved to virtual learning at this time,” he said.
All of the school’s athletic programs are shut down until at least April 5.
The 3-1 football team was set to play Floyd this weekend. That game has been cancelled and could be listed as a no contest. The team is slated to play Carroll County next week, and that game could also be in question. So, for now, the Bobcats will not play either of those games, and their regular season is done. They could still make the postseason, which is slated to begin in three weeks.
Superintendent Dr. Robert Graham said the entire school system will return to 100 percent virtual learning because of concerns surrounding those positive cases.
COVID testing is underway on athletes and contact tracing is underway.
Graham said they do not know the true number of positive cases at this time, but said he believes the incident came from outside the school system. At least one football player has tested positive.
In addition to the football program, the shutdown also includes cross country, golf and volleyball. Each of those sports has cancelled the remaining competition.
This is the first athletic program affected by COVID and/or contact tracing in our area. Northside High School dealt with a similar situation earlier this month, shutting down for over two weeks and cancelling several football games.
The Radford school system plans to do a deep clean on April 2.