Due to Rising COVID-19 Cases, YISD Closes All Athletic Events to Public

Hours before kickoff of the Friday night high school football slate, Ysleta Independent School District sent out a release to close off all athletic activities to only athletes, coaches, game officials and administrators, citing the rising COVID-19 cases in El Paso.

On Friday, El Paso reported a total of 329 new COVID-19 cases and four delayed testing results, along with five deaths. The 3,999 active cases are the highest they've been since Aug. 21 and 329 cases is the largest single-day cases reported since July 31.

Effective today, spectators, student groups (band, dance teams, JROTC, etc.), media members and others will not be allowed to attend any athletic activity for YISD. The district has also canceled all Homecoming and Senior Night activities for football and volleyball games.

"In response to the rise in new COVID-19 cases in El Paso and in cooperation with local health authorities, Ysleta ISD is implementing its approved Code-Red provisions for athletic events and delaying the date for teachers to report to campuses as part of its commitment to safeguard the health and safety of students and staff, officials said Friday," YISD said in a release.

At the middle school level, soccer and tennis tournaments have been canceled for the weekend.

Some schools within the district are including live streams of the games on their websites.

Here are the YISD home games scheduled for Friday:

• Hanks at Eastwood, 7 p.m.
• Socorro at Ysleta, 7 p.m.
• Eastlake at Parkland, 7 p.m.
• Jefferson at Riverside, 7 p.m.

Here is the full schedule for Friday night: