Blair varsity football scrimmage cancelled after a positive COVID-19 test

In a letter to Blair families released Tuesday, March 23, Principal Renay Johnson announced that a member of the athletics program at Blair tested positive for COVID-19, and that all individuals who were known to have direct contact with the person had been notified and advised to quarantine for two weeks. It was later revealed on Twitter that the individual was a student on Blair's varsity football team.

Head coach Sam Nosoff took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that the team's scrimmage scheduled for this Friday, March 26, has been cancelled as a result of the positive test. "Definitely bummed to not be playing, but safety and health of our family is priority 1," he wrote. Nosoff added that the team will virtually prepare for their game against Rockville currently scheduled for April 9, and that the junior varsity match will still take place as originally scheduled.

Despite the positive test, Johnson wrote in her letter that Blair's plan to continually phase in students into the building will not be interrupted. "This case does not impact in-person learning, so our classes will continue as scheduled," she wrote.

Blair is by no means the first MCPS school to experience a positive COVID-19 test. Since schools officially opened their doors to students on March 1, 28 letters have been sent out as of March 24 to families notifying them of positive test results. MCPS has not announced any decision to halt or slow the return to school phase-in process.