A Washington state high school is having some of its student-athletes and coaches wear tracking monitors to trace potential exposure to the coronavirus.
Eatonville High School in Eatonville, about 60 miles south of Seattle, said the devices, or proximity monitors, are for athletes who participate in high-contact and moderate indoor sports, including football. Students will have to wear them regardless of their vaccination statuses.
“By using the proximity monitors we can immediately determine who might have been exposed to Covid-19,” the school said Tuesday on its website. “Athletes and coaches not in contact with the player who tested positive can continue to participate in the sport.”
Without the devices, entire teams could be forced to quarantine if a player or a coach tested positive.
The monitors use sensors to track a person’s distance to another person wearing the device, as well as how long they are around each other. The devices, which the district paid for with a grant, will be worn only while players are on the field.
The school said parents were notified about the devices and were invited to a meeting to get more information. Parents had to sign consent forms to allow their children to wear them, the school said.
Some parents have lashed out at the school, saying the devices are an invasion.
“They’re putting tracking devices on my kid,” Jason Ostendorf, a parent, told The News Tribune of Tacoma. The newspaper said the devices will mostly be worn on wrists.
Story continues at: MONITORS
