Bryan County Schools is canceling high school and middle school sports as well as JROTC and band competitions through March 27.

The move comes as other area districts, including Liberty County School System and Effingham County Schools, have put their spring sports seasons on hold while officials keep an eye on COVID-19, or Coronavirus. The Georgia High School Association on Thursday urged all the regions in the state to suspend springs sports. 

BCS Assistant Superintendent Jason Rogers said school officials here are monitoring the impact of the virus, which has led to cancellations in professional sports and other events such as Savannah's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

"Bryan County Schools continues to work with local, state and national organizations to monitor the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). In an effort to minimize large gatherings, the Georgia High School Association has called for the temporary suspension of all athletic contests," Rogers said in an email. "In response to this recommendation, the District has cancelled all high school and middle school competitions, including Band and JROTC, through Friday, March 27. Currently, students will still be allowed to practice and take part in activities at the school."

Bryan County Recreation Department sports other than soccer will continue, according to Recreation Director Dr. Samose Mays. 

In an email, Mays said his department "reached out to other recreational agencies in Chatham, Liberty, and Bulloch that are also still continuing to provide the services with their other programs outside of soccer," and "we have decided to continue on with our other programs that are currently in season." 

"In order to protect the public we have gone to multiple facility sanitary efforts and multiple daily restroom checks and cleanings. The public’s safety is most important to us. We will continue to check with our local government for updates."

 Bryan County partners with the Richmond Hill Soccer Club for that sport, and RHSC is a part of Georgia Soccer. Georgia Soccer has suspended all recreational games through April 30, according to its website.

Here's a copy and paste of the GHSA release posted on its website:

Following a statement by Governor Brian Kemp Thursday afternoon, the Georgia High School Association is postponing the State Literary competitions scheduled for March 14 and March 21, and further recommending that all member schools suspend spring sports activities until further notice.

“The regular season belongs to the schools themselves,“ said Dr. Robin Hines, Executive Director of the GHSA. “We can only recommend that they suspend playing. The final decision will rest with the local school systems, but we hope they heed the Governor’s and the GHSA’s recommendations.”

The GHSA State Literary meets are expected to be made up at a future date. The situation with the remaining spring sports is yet to be determined.

“We will definitely suspend for the next two weeks, as the Governor recommended,” said Hines. “By close of business on Friday, March 27th, we will issue an update.

“We hate to have to make this call, but we must do what is in the best interest of our student-athletes and fans.”