March 5, 2020
At 6:45 pm this evening a conference call was held to discuss the situation regarding the BRLD basketball participation in the State Boys Basketball Tournament.
Included in the call were Jon Cerny- BR Superintendent, Mike Sjuts-BR Principal, Matt Kai- BR Athletic Director, Stan Hendricks- Doniphan-Trumbull Superintendent, Dr. Matt Donohue and Dr. Bryan Buss-Epidemiologists with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, and Gina Uhing- Elkhorn Logan Valley Health Department.
Background
There was a presumptive positive test at the South Dakota lab for a young man that attended Hartington CC. On March 5, the young man attended two state Girls Basketball Tournament games. Preliminary information was hearsay. That information suggested a connection between the young man ad BRLD students. It was recommended that BR and LD suspend classes until there was more information.
Agencies involved in the investigation of this young man’s situation:
State Department of Health
Northeast District Health Department
Elkhorn-Logan Valley Health Department
Central District Health Department
Lincoln-Lancaster Health Department
The investigation included interviews of people who were around this young man all morning. Family members were with the young man throughout the day and had 100% visibility of him at all games. He was not socially active at the games because he was not feeling well. Exposures that made this young man ill did not happen at the girls State Basketball Tournament.
This is an inexact science but we are acting on the data that we have.
Conclusions
1. There is nothing to suggest that BRLD has a direct link to the young man with a presumptive positive test.
2. There is no reason to exclude the BRLD Boys basketball team from the State Basketball Tournament if all other teams are allowed to play.
3. There is no greater risk from the BRLD players than from anyone else on the court.
The conclusions were approved by the Chief Medical Officer of the Division of Public Health. Doniphan-Trumbull accepted the results of the investigation.
Recommendations-
1. Promote handwashing regularly and good hand hygiene
2. Have an ordered flow when entering and leaving the gymnasiums and limited co-mingling.
3. Any player from any team who is ill should not be participating and should stay home.
