It was just a week ago when the athletic facilities at all 5 Lexington County schools were bursting with activity. 

As of Tuesday, none are continuing their summer workouts. Lexington School Districts 1, 3 & 4 joined District 2 and Lexington/Richland District 5 in suspending sporting workouts until further notice.

Lexington 1 will reevaluate the situation on July 20, less than 2 weeks before preseason camps begin. 

The decision was made mostly on the increased reported number of covid-19 cases throughout South Carolina. On Wednesday, 1,741 new cases of infections were reported by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

It’s the most single-day cases reported in South Carolina, 100 reported from Lexington County and 137 in Richland County. 

“It was a tough decision,” Batesburg-Leesville head coach/athletics director Gary Adams of District 3 said. 

The postponements come on the heels of the S.C. High School League making its guidelines towards resuming activities a requirement with fines, if necessary. Pelion head coach Dann Holland of District 1 spoke a week ago about his school’s approach towards returning to campus. 

“We are following the guidelines we were given to the letter,” he said. “I meet daily with our HAT especially if we are exploring some ideas to try. The health and well being of our players is always first in our minds. If these are the protocols to keep them healthy then we'll follow them diligently.” 

SCISA schools W.W. King and Northside Christian and charter school Gray Collegiate have not announced a stoppage of workouts. SCISA has currently adopted Phase 2 of its athletics plan for the summer.