Dunwoody High School volleyball practices were temporarily suspended because at least one student or staff member tested positive for COVID-19, according to DeKalb County School District.

DCSD would not say the number of people who tested positive because of “medical privacy,” and it would not say when or how long volleyball practices were suspended.

A parent told the Reporter about the positive COVID-19 case in the volleyball program on Aug. 3. DCSD confirmed there was at least one positive case on the team and the practices were temporarily suspended on Aug. 4. DCSD also said that Lakeside High School football had a similar COVID-19-related suspension but did not elaborate on the amount of cases or timeframe of the suspension.

A DCSD spokesperson said the district worked with the DeKalb County Board of Health to notify people who may have come in contact with the infected person or people.

From July 1 to Aug. 10, DCSD has 14 positive COVID-19 cases in student athletes or coaches, according to Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris’s presentation at a Aug. 10 DeKalb County Board of Education meeting.

According to the same report, there have been 66 positive cases in employees, 22 of which were reported the week before the Aug. 10 meeting.

“It’s not our intention to cancel sports, but it’s clear the data is telling us we have to do something,” Watson-Harris said.

Watson-Harris said at the Aug. 10 meeting she’ll soon be making a more concrete decision regarding the operations of the district’s athletics programs.

During a DCSD town hall about athletics, Executive Director for Athletics James Jackson said the district is using Georgia High School Association COVID-19 guidelines and is being slightly more restrictive, such as requiring masks in weight rooms rather than recommending them.

Jackson said “safety is the No. 1 priority” when answering a question about what happens when there’s a positive COVID-19 case on a DCSD sports team. He said the district will contact the Board of Health to do contact tracing and ask individuals who may have been infected to get tested or self quarantine. He did not say whether practices would be suspended or for how long.