Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools confirmed Thursday there are COVID-19 clusters involving two high school teams. The Ardrey Kell cheerleading team has six cases that health officials say are connected, and the Independence High football team has five.
Local health officials declare a cluster when they conclude that five or more cases are likely to have spread at a school or school-related activity. CMS spokeswoman Eve White said the clusters were confirmed too late to make this week’s state report but should show up next Tuesday.
CMS had already canceled Friday’s football games for both teams based on the first students to test positive, White said.
With the delta variant of COVID-19 spreading rapidly across the country, including among children too young to be vaccinated, families, educators and health officials are watching anxiously to see whether the spread accelerates as students return to classrooms.
Most South Carolina public schools opened this week. Most in North Carolina will bring students back Monday, with CMS starting Wednesday.
