COVID-19 testing shortage affects athletics

The COVID-19 test supply issues were a big concern in recent weeks in relation to high school sports.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) guidance for high risk indoor sports, such as basketball, required athletes to test multiple times a week. This, along with surges in COVID-19 cases, made tests hard to come by and raised concerns about athletic teams being able to obtain enough tests to follow state guidance and participate in competitions.

Moses Lake High School assistant athletic director Clint Scriven said MLHS has not been affected by the lack of testing supplies.

“Our nurse here at the high school has been very diligent about keeping our district as a whole prepared for the influx of testing supplies and their availability,” Scriven said.

Quincy High School also has worked its way through the shortage, according to QHS athletic director Brett Fancher.

Fancher said new guidance for K-12 sports and activities issued by the DOH have taken a lot of pressure off QHS’s need for testing supplies. An update on Jan. 26 changed the testing requirements for high-risk indoor sports from three days per week to only on days of competition. The other change is required masking during practices for those high-risk sports. Testing on the day of competition is required for all athletes, coaches, trainers and support personnel, regardless of vaccination status. Individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days and recovered do not need to participate in screening testing unless symptomatic, at which time an antigen test is required.

Ephrata High School; however, was not as fortunate with testing supplies and shut down all non-varsity team sports, as well as the varsity Unified team, to ration the stock of tests until it could get more tests.

The announcement by superintendent Tim Payne came on Jan. 24.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the immediate pause of all athletics below the high school varsity level due to this testing shortage. We are working very hard to ensure varsity sports with postseason opportunities have every chance to play in their competitions,” the announcement stated.

The announcement claimed orders placed by the Ephrata School District for tests were either delivered with fewer tests than requested or the order was cancelled.

The pause for those teams was from Jan. 25 until further notice.

But two days later, on Jan. 26, the district released another announcement immediately reinstating all sports and citing the generosity of the Ephrata community.

“We can’t begin to express the gratitude we feel for those individuals that came together to support Ephrata sports in our time of need,” it stated. “It’s not every school district that receives the love and encouragement we feel from our community. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you. Welcome back Ephrata athletes. Go Tigers!”