By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

MCPHERSON – McPherson USD 418 Superintendent Shiloh Vincent has released a ‘Spectator Guidance’ request after conferring with the McPherson County Health Department and receiving a letter from area doctors.

According to Vincent, the ‘Spectator Guidance’ request came together after noting the Covid numbers going up and 25 members of the local medical community sent the district a letter encouraging members of the community to ‘avoid indoor crowds’.

With this information in mind, Vincent and other administrators met to review upcoming events and drafted a spectator guidance listing for all teams, staff, parents/guardians, and fans.

Here is the release:

SPECTATOR GUIDANCE

Extracurricular Activities in USD 418.

Every school participating in extracurricular activities right now is facing a flurry of staff and student absences due to a very high Covid-19 transmission rate. Our goal in McPherson Public Schools is to keep students in school and teams eligible to play every game this season. Like you, we don’t want any student to miss a day or a game over the next six weeks.

With this in mind, we ask the following of all spectators:

  1. SPECTATE ONLINE = It’s in everyone’s best interest to limit the number of spectators at every game. If you have even a sniffle or are not immediate family, cheer for your team by watching at home from the following link – https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/mcpherson-high-school-mcpherson-ks
  2. IF YOU ATTEND AN EVENT – WEAR A MASK = If it saves even one player from falling victim to the Covid-19 domino effect, it is worth it. Please wear a mask even if you are vaccinated or have had Covid-19 recently.

FOR THOSE WHO MISS THIS RELEASE –

The District will provide the following reminders at the event:

> SIGNAGE = Throughout the facilities you will see signage to remind you of the mask expectation.

> MASKS AVAILABLE = Disposable masks will be available for anyone who leaves theirs at home.

> REGULAR ANNOUNCEMENTS = Announcers will remind you regularly of the expectations.

Most importantly, let’s remember that it’s only midway through the season, and creating a super-spreader situation now could cause a wave of absences that hurt our teams, students, and staff in the long run.

Thank you for your consideration, and best of luck to you teams.