The Bethel Warriors and Lady Warriors played their Regional Conference basketball tournament in Anchorage on Friday, March 13. One day earlier, Alaska’s first positive case of the novel coronavirus had been announced; the infected person was in Anchorage. Lower Kuskokwim School District Superintendent Dan Walker explained his decision to let the boys and girls play in what he says is likely to be the last student activity of the school year.
“They were right at the point of playing,” Walker said. “The students were there, all the teams were there, the parents were there, and I felt like we needed to go ahead and let them play. And certainly people can second guess that decision.”
Walker said that when he saw the announcement of the first case of COVID-19 in Alaska the night before the Bethel Warriors and Lady Warriors played their last basketball games of the season, he started evaluating the situation.
“When they made that announcement, they believed it was an isolated case,” Walker said. “It was a pilot who came in on a cargo plane, and they did not believe there was any concern in the community.”
Plus, he said that the tournament’s organizers had already chosen to proceed with the tournament. They also moved the games from closed public school gyms to private schools that were still open. Walker said that there was one other matter on his mind.
“And I also know how important those events are for our kids,” said Walker. “I’ll tell you what was in the back of my mind: it was likely their last event for the year.”
At the time Walker made the decision to let Bethel players participate in the tournament in Anchorage, there was only one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Alaska. As of Wednesday, March 18, there were at least nine cases spread across multiple cities.
“With this pandemic, the circumstances are ever-changing, and we’re making the best decisions that we can based on the information that we have at the moment,” Walker said. “If I had to make that decision today, given the circumstances of today, I probably wouldn’t allow it.”
When the players and their parents arrived back in Bethel, Walker says that he gave them the same guidance he’s given to teachers and staff returning from out of the state.
“It’s basically do the social distancing and the good hygiene,” Walker said. “That’s what the guidelines that I have seen have also said. That’s a level 2, so it doesn’t require that they quarantine.”
Bethel players' efforts to practice social distancing are helped by the fact that all Alaska public schools are now closed to students until at least March 30. It's expected that the closures will last longer than that, and Walker is one of many school officials who are actively planning for that scenario.
