CMS Supt. Earnest Winston says district’s athletics will remain paused. Here’s how long.

In a special media session Friday afternoon, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Supt. Earnest Winston offered a brief update on CMS’ “readiness plans” as it relates to plans for schools during the pandemic.

He did not relent on his plans for sports.

CMS schools will remain sidelined until at least February.

“Another topic I know that is generating much conversation is the very difficult decision that our leadership team made to pause athletics for teams not already participating in postseason competition,” Winston said. “We recognize the importance of athletics and other extracurricular activities, but after much consultation with our local public health officials, with community spread at an all-time high, we made the decision to protect the health and safety of our student-athletes, our coaches and our staff.

“And we’ve seen a number of cases in our athletic programs over the past several months that have followed the proper procedures and protocols to mitigate the spread. This week, some previously reported cases in two of our schools’ athletic programs were classified as clusters by our county health public officials. I want you to know it’s our intent to resume athletic practices and competitions as we return students to in-person learning in February.”

Last week, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools decided to stop athletics until Feb. 15 due to rising COVID-19 cases in the area and a directive from the Mecklenburg County Department of Public Health.

CMS teams that had already begun the playoffs (cross-country, volleyball) were allowed to continue, but the other sports were stopped.