METRO ATLANTA — Two weeks into the 2021 high school football season, football coaches have had to fight to keep their teams healthy so their games can be played.

The challenge for some has been overwhelming.

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Channel 2 Action News reporter Matt Johnson spoke with Dr. Chirag Patel with Wellstar Health Systems about the contagious delta variant. Patel said infection levels are topping last years strain. And they are not sparing kids.

“I think in the south, particularly with so many pediatric cases coming up. outdoor sports are going to be in jeopardy over the next few months,” Patel said.

During the 2019-20 school year, the Georgia High School Association reported 2,586 cases among student athletes from winter to spring according to an open records request.

GHSA Executive Director Robin Hines told Johnson he believes that with more players and staff now vaccinated, those numbers will be far lower this season.

“We feel like we’re in a much better place now than we were this time last year,” Hines said. “We are moving forward with a regular schedule and planning to be back to normal.”

In DeKalb County, the school district had to already cancel a game last week between McNair and Forest Park because of COVID-19 issues. Atlanta’s Midtown High School had to cancel this weekend. Lovejoy and Carver High had to cancel their game as well.

There have been multiple districts around the state of Georgia who have had game cancellations to start their seasons.

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Football coaches will tell you before players “leave it on the field”, they are working just as hard to stay healthy and avoid having to miss games.

“It used to be like if you were sick, it was kind of like suck it up. You know, and now we don’t take any risk,” said Bobby May, Head Football Coach at Westlake High School.

Chamblee High School head coach Bob Swank told Johnson it will be a lot easier to pull it off if everyone is just smart about COVID-19. Swank said one thing they are having to do is limit indoor activities such as lifting weights. He said his players are all on board with being cautious.

“We want to avoid getting shut down at all costs,” Swank said. “If we have to go 12 or 15 deep, that have to quarantine that would be a real big problem for the team.”

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