Spring Hill College will be moving forward with its plan for normal seasons with full capacity at Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center this upcoming fall, despite the rise of cases in Mobile, Alabama and the new delta variant of COVID-19.

Athletes haven’t had a normal season for about two years due to COVID-19. There have been mask mandates, mandatory testing up to three times a week, and other precautions to keep the spread of COVID down amongst athletes. The Spring Hill athletic department is following these guidelines strictly. All athletes who are unvaccinated are required to be tested three times a week, but that could change. Those that are fully vaccinated are now starting to test positive for COVID-19 or the new Delta variant. Many athletes say that they did not test positive prior to testing positive days later and are asymptomatic which means for an easier spread amongst other students and staff.  

Cheerleader Kiersten Turpeau shares that some of her teammates have tested positive for covid whilst being vaccinated. “It's been a challenge, we are required to get tested three times a week if we are unvaccinated but now that vaccinated athletes are testing positive for COVID on the team, the athletic department is requiring vaccinated athletes to get tested too.”  

The new Delta variant has proved to be sneakier than ever, since the school year started the   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released an updated guidance on the need for urgently increasing COVID-19 vaccination coverage and a recommendation for everyone in areas of substantial or high transmission to wear a mask in public indoor places, even if they are fully vaccinated.  The CDC released a statement explaining that, “The Delta variant was more infectious and was leading to increased transmissibility when compared with other variants, even in some vaccinated individuals.”

Although the new Delta variant makes the upcoming fall semester uncertain what will happen next, Athletic Director Joe Niland reassures that, “In athletics we are used to adjusting and coming up with a plan and changing it on the fly, so you know I think we’ll be okay and I’m looking forward to the season.”