Texans are obsessed with high school football. We’re famous for it. So when the pandemic hit, parents were quite upset with the football games being cancelled.
With a non-existent federal and a weak state response, Texas has been left to govern the COVID-19 crisis county by county. Counties that have a higher number of cases have more restrictions. Essentially this forces counties to under-report or misreport the numbers so that their counties won’t be shut down. I’m not sure if ‘forces’ is the right word. The smaller counties have a lot of pressure from their residents, but they also tend to be run by good old boys. Early on the local governments were releasing statements saying that many of the COVID-19 numbers were because of co-morbidities, but I haven’t seen anything in the last month.
These smaller counties, with small high schools, all have a lot of civic engagement from the high school football games. The small businesses in the area sell meals and beer to the people that have gone to the game, the printers sell swag and t-shirts, the newspaper sells ads to the businesses, it’s all a symbiotic relationship. So the schools have an interest in making sure they stay open so that the football games can continue.
School got off to a slow start this year, with the first two weeks in virtual learning, but they opened for in person as soon as they could. The athletic training started soon after that. Everybody was gamely wearing masks and maintaining distance, but even with the attempts to stay safe, there have been some cases. In my area (which I won’t reveal) there have been five cases at the high school, 3 students and two teachers. This is the independent school district for the city.
The smaller private schools in the area have no such restrictions. One has been operating since school started, in person and without masks. A few days into October, a teacher was diagnosed. They continued to come to work without a mask. A few days later, one of the kids on the cross-country team was tested positive, while she was on her way to a game. They had to turn the bus around. Now there’s a assistant that has tested positive. They were working the Friday game. So did they catch it from one of the players, or did they already have it, and give it to one of the players? Even worse is the possibility that one of the players gave it to the opposing team. These are hotbeds of infection, and the second wave will most likely start in the rural areas.
I’ve changed details in this story to protect the privacy of those involved.