Several private schools in the Charlotte area are taking a 10-day pause on athletics following a new directive from Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris.
School officials from Charlotte Country Day, Charlotte Latin and Providence Day told The Observer on Wednesday afternoon that all winter sports — basketball, wrestling, swimming — are being paused until Friday, Jan. 22.
The Observer reached out to officials at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools about possible changes. CMS spokesperson Brian Hacker said the district likely wouldn’t have comment until Thursday. CMS also has an emergency school board meeting planned for Thursday.
Harris’ directive, in part, says people should use virtual options for school and work. That prompted a scramble among school administrators in and around Charlotte, abruptly upending plans to gradually ease into a return to classroom. Some private schools, including Providence Day, were closed Wednesday as school officials planned next steps.
Harris’ directive also says that people ages 65 and older, as well as individuals considered high risk for coronavirus-related complications, should avoid leaving their homes.
The directive comes with an increased sense of urgency, Harris said at a news conference Wednesday morning. A 22-year-old died with COVID-19 in Mecklenburg on Tuesday — the county’s youngest coronavirus death to date, Harris said.
That death was a driving factor in issuing the new directive, Harris said. She said the 22-year-old had some underlying conditions that may have led to coronavirus complications, but she declined to provide more demographic data about the individual.
School officials from Charlotte Country Day, Charlotte Latin and Providence Day told The Observer on Wednesday afternoon that all winter sports — basketball, wrestling, swimming — are being paused until Friday, Jan. 22.
The Observer reached out to officials at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools about possible changes. CMS spokesperson Brian Hacker said the district likely wouldn’t have comment until Thursday. CMS also has an emergency school board meeting planned for Thursday.
Harris’ directive, in part, says people should use virtual options for school and work. That prompted a scramble among school administrators in and around Charlotte, abruptly upending plans to gradually ease into a return to classroom. Some private schools, including Providence Day, were closed Wednesday as school officials planned next steps.
Harris’ directive also says that people ages 65 and older, as well as individuals considered high risk for coronavirus-related complications, should avoid leaving their homes.
The directive comes with an increased sense of urgency, Harris said at a news conference Wednesday morning. A 22-year-old died with COVID-19 in Mecklenburg on Tuesday — the county’s youngest coronavirus death to date, Harris said.
That death was a driving factor in issuing the new directive, Harris said. She said the 22-year-old had some underlying conditions that may have led to coronavirus complications, but she declined to provide more demographic data about the individual.
