A Minnesota high-school senior was recently forced to quarantine for 14 days and missed a state swim meet as a result, but Gov. Tim Walz elected to isolate for just 10 days after a possible exposure to COVID-19.
The student, Carson Deichman, was alerted to his potential exposure to the virus on March 9. He quarantined for 11 days and got tested twice, with both tests coming back negative.
But the Minnesota State High School League and Mankato West High School forced the student to complete a full 14-day quarantine, denying him the chance to compete in the state tournament.
Deichman recently told Fox News that he was “devastated” because it was his “very last chance” to compete in a state tournament.
“I do very much feel cheated,” he said. “For a lot of kids, these high-school sports [are] a chance for them to escape and this is what they enjoy doing. Unfortunately, it’s getting stripped away from some of these kids.”
While Deichman was in quarantine, Walz announced that he too may have been exposed to the virus, but decided to hole up in the governor’s mansion for just 10 days.
I’ll be working remotely for a while, as I follow CDC guidance to quarantine. I hope this is a reminder that COVID is still spreading, and it’s still important to get tested. Stay safe, Minnesota! pic.twitter.com/sEsXtmQ9x0
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) March 17, 2021
“We thought when the governor, two days later, when he had his own close contact, we thought if it was safe for him to quarantine for 10 days, it’s most likely safe for a high-school athlete,” Deichman’s father, Mark, told Fox News.
He said the local school board was adamant on a 14-day quarantine “unless the governor said otherwise.”
The student advocacy group Let Them Play said MDH’s own statistics show only three possible cases of transmission among the 15,000-20,000 youth swimmers in Minnesota.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
