Escambia School District Restricts Out Of County Travel Due To Coronavirus

March 13, 2020

The Escambia County School District has restricted most travel outside the county effective immediately in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus. There will be exceptions for some outdoor athletic competitions on a game by game basis.

All field trips, regardless of destination, have been suspended.

The official policy released Thursday afternoon by the school district states all out-of-state travel for both students and staff members is suspended for the remainder of the school year. All student and staff travel in-state is suspended for the next 30 days at which time requests may be re-evaluated.

However, there will be some exceptions to the policy for outdoor sporting events.

“We are using common sense, as long as that county does not have an active COVID-19 case, outside events will be allowed to continue at the moment,” Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said.

Additional exceptions may be granted for Northview High School sporting events due to the school’s close proximity to Alabama and upcoming opponents such Escambia Academy, and T.R. Miller, Thomas said. He noted that Northview and Jay competitions are still on at the present time.

In the near term, Northview baseball’s two-day series set to begin Thursday with Baker has been canceled, and the upcoming Tate High School Aggie Classic has been canceled due to the number of teams that participate from around the county.

Comments

5 Responses to “Escambia School District Restricts Out Of County Travel Due To Coronavirus”

  1. Laquita on March 13th, 2020 5:56 pm

    Thank God they are cancelling theses events. Some people as it is bring their sick kids around healthy people as is. Stop living through your kids and be parents.

  2. just sayin on March 13th, 2020 7:41 am

    Hindsight is that if somehow you only knew that this action saved your child’s life would you still be complaining about it?

  3. Matt on March 13th, 2020 6:37 am

    This is all going to ridiculous lengths. You’re messing with kids’ futures by just cancelling everything. Kids that are vying for sports scholarships are having those chances snatched out from under them, major academic events that students have been working their tails off for are being cancelled at the last second and it’s all for naught because people are going to still be around people regardless of what you cancel. Last night I was told that my 8u softball team wasn’t allowed to shake hands after the game, a tradition of the sport. Never mind the fact that every girl on both teams had handled the same ball during the game. Sometimes you have to let common sense prevail and not be so paranoid.

  4. Cyndisue on March 13th, 2020 12:42 am

    My thoughts exactly, Lisa. Being outside does not make anyone more safe. It is a matter of proximity to someone infected and physical contact with surfaces that have been infected. Not more fresh air. Plus the Vet Team State Competition is this weekend and we were given less than a 24 hour notice before their departure of Malcolm Thomas’ decision to suspend school sanctioned activities. It has been devastating to the students who have been preparing 2-3 days a week to qualify for this competition. As far as I have been able to find out, the competition itself has not been cancelled. So that means that others NOT living in Escambia County will be going to the competition on Saturday. I am very upset and disappointed that we as parents had no say so in this decision for our kids. I would take them but I am not allowed to as I am sure that other parents would. ALL ACTIVITIES SHOULD BE CANCELLED IF ANY ARE CANCELLED. DON’T PLAY FAVORITES!

  5. Lisa on March 12th, 2020 8:17 pm

    What makes the sports more important than other activities? Do people actually think that ones that participate in outdoor activities are immune?

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News