Athletes compete in USA Preps softball tournament on Little Valley fields in St. George, Utah, July 18, 2020 | Photo by Ryne Williams, St. George News
S T. JORGE – The City of St. George has commented after a participant in the USA Preps Summer Nationals softball tournament in St. George this weekend tested positive for COVID-19, prompting cancellation of part of the competition.
Tournament organizers have also released an additional statement to St. George News, alleging that the player performed a second test and was negative for the virus.
On Saturday afternoon, the city of St. George released the following statement:
“Our staff has noted that those involved in this tournament have, for the most part, been doing a good job following the protocol established by the Utah State Department of Health for this event, ”said city spokesman David Cordero. “We appreciate the responsibility and action taken by USA Preps during their tournament.”
USA Preps also issued a statement on the positive test results on Saturday, stating that the athlete had been tested for COVID-19, was awaiting the results, and traveled to St. George for the tournament before the results returned.
On Friday, those results were positive.
“We were struck yesterday (Friday) that a father made a very irresponsible decision to bring his son to our event while waiting for the results of a COVID test,” said a written statement by USA Preps. Upon hearing this news, we immediately made the decision to close the Archie Gubler Complex for the rest of the weekend. While the player in question only played in four games, we felt it was in everyone’s best interest to immediately eliminate all 24 teams along with the officials, college coaches and staff who were at that complex. Our schedule ensures that teams remain in the same complex throughout the week and that no one at the Archie Gubler Complex has had any interaction with other teams at this event. “
USA Preps issued an additional statement Saturday night to St. George News, stating that the player had now tested negative for the virus.
“The player who received a positive result yesterday (Friday), which led us to close the Archie Gubler Complex, was retested today and received a negative result notice,” the statement read. “The initial test was a FREE test performed by your local county and it took several days for the false positive. Today’s test was paid for at your local clinic and the results were accelerated and confirmed to be negative. We support our decision to close the complex for the health and safety of everyone involved. We hope that this new test result will give everyone a little comfort in moving forward. ”
It’s unclear how the player got such a rapid change on a test that it generally takes 24 hours to seven days to get a result, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There is a test, known as an antigen test, recently approved by the Federal Drug Administration, that has a faster response time, but that test is available in limited places.
The statement also makes a difference between a “free” trial and one that is not. Pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response and Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security laws, it is a federal law that all coronavirus tests administered in the United States are free.
USA Preps also said that the strict guidelines they had established will protect the teams eliminated from the tournament, as well as the remaining teams that will finish the tournament on Sunday. US Preps noted that players must wear masks while off the field, softball balls are sanitized every half inning, and shelters are sanitized after each game.
The guidelines on the USA Preps website were also presented prior to the tournament. These included face masks for attendees, even when they were six feet away, teams were asked to limit spectators to five per day, players were asked to use the stands as an extension of the booth, and Players were asked to keep social distance off the field.
When St. George News attended the games taking place on the Little Valley fields, there were some people who followed the rules. These include sitting behind garden fences, social distancing, and wearing masks.
There were also people who did not abide by the rules established by the tournament.
There were some groups of people who did not wear masks and maintained social distance while others were sitting in the stands, which were supposed to be reserved for athletes when they were not on the field.
For the athletes, of the eight teams that played on all four fields when St. George News was there, only one team had masks in the shelters and there was limited social distancing off the field. There was one more outfit that had masks, but the masks were under the chin, leaving his face fully exposed.
“The irresponsible actions of a group of parents is not a reflection of the USA Preps,” said the USA Preps statement. “We will continue to adhere to our strict security protocols and will make the safety of all attendees and the local community our number one priority.”
St. George News weekend editor / reporter Chris Reed contributed to this story.
Updated on July 19 at 11:30 am: Additional statement from USA Preps saying the player has returned negative for the virus.
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