March 18, 2021

Notes from the Field: SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Associated with High School Football Team Members — Florida, September–October 2020

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): schools, sports, transmission

• In an outbreak investigation by the Florida Department of Health, an index case of COVID-19 in a high school football player was linked to an additional 18 confirmed cases (12 players, 2 coaches, and 2 non-player classroom contacts). Because of potential close contact between infected team members and classmates, 267 students at the football team’s school were quarantined, resulting in approximately 2,243 person-days of lost in-person learning. Factors that likely led to transmission included infrequent mask use in the weight room or during practice, inadequate physical distancing and ventilation on buses transporting players, infrequent disinfection of communal areas, and insufficient sanitization of shared hydration systems.

Siegel et al. (Mar 19, 2021). Notes from the Field: SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Associated with High School Football Team Members — Florida, September–October 2020. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7011a3