A number of basketball teams are out due to COVID-19 in the JMCSS

With the number of student athletes out for isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19 all but one of the high school basketball games for the Jackson Madison County School System will happen not this week.

“Because of quarantine and isolation, many of our teams were unable to play this week", says public information officer for the school system, Greg D. Hammond.

I spoke with a parent who received a message saying their child needed to quarantine after someone on the team tested positive he told me his first reaction.

“Basically, is my child going to be okay, should I get tested. And secondly who has my child been around. Is it my mother in law who is 86 years old, is it other family members who have potential health issues", says the parent, Kevin Hicks.

Hicks has two student athletes, one in middle school and one in high school.

He says him and his wife make sure their children know the importance of wearing a masks and hand washing just in case a situation like this happens.

“You know basically as a parent you make sure that your children wear masks, my children are informed. They are informed by coaches, but definitely informed by our household to wear a mask even in the locker room", adds Hicks.

But he says they also know the risk of letting them play.

“It’s new to everybody, so it’s hard to hold schools and districts accountable, because there is no certainty about allowing your kids to play sports, there is a risk that is associated with it. And we were fully aware that there are risks", he says.

Leaders in the district say they will continue to keep in contact with local health officials in regards to the upcoming sport seasons.