Summit County Public Health has investigated “at least” 16 high school sports teams, cheerleading squads and marching bands with a COVID-19 case in recent weeks, officials confirmed Friday night.

Department spokeswoman Marlene Martin said she could not identify the high schools involved, but said there could be multiple cases within one school.

“It is like 16 teams, not necessarily 16 schools,” she said. “There are at least eight districts that have had cases.”

The department’s epidemiologist, Joan Hall, said in recent weeks there have been at least 16 teams with at least one positive case and resulting contact tracing.

Martin said she did not know how many cases are actively being investigated.

“Contact sports has been practicing for weeks and have had cases over the last few weeks,” she said.

Martin said she was not aware of any full teams or groups that were asked to quarantine. “Some teams canceled practices for a bit but not all the athletes were quarantined,” she said.

The cases involve soccer and football teams, cheerleaders and marching bands, Martin said.

Additionally, she said “many are involved with multiple sports.”

“We have had situations where youngsters have mixed and resulted in outbreaks in football, cheer, cross country, etc. whenever you mix outside your bubble,” Summit County Health Commissioner Donna Skoda said.

The public health department typically declines to provide detailed information about COVID-19 cases, citing health privacy laws in identifying those with a communicable disease.

There are 17 public school districts in Summit County and at least five private high schools. Additionally, Akron Public Schools has several high schools within its district.

It is unknown how many students and coaches have been asked to quarantine or whether they were told they cannot participate in practices or competitive play.

Public health officials have said that whether a whole team or group of students is asked to quarantine depends on how they have been social distancing and whether they have been closer than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The news of the COVID -19 clusters comes as Gov. Mike DeWine earlier this week gave the green light for high-contact sports like football and soccer to play. As a result, many Akron-area school districts moved up their seasons to begin playing in the next several weeks instead of waiting to play until Oct. 1, as previously announced.

Skoda several weeks ago recommended that high-contact sports delay until Oct. 1. Skoda earlier this week said she still believed it was safest to wait until after Oct. 1 to play competitive sports to allow schools some buffer time to get students back into classrooms and see what happens with cases.

Akron Public Schools halted all extracurriculars, including sports competitions and practices, after some low-contact sports had already begun play. The school board is set to discuss fall sports again on Monday.

In nearby Medina county, someone associated with the Highland High School football team tested positive for COVID-19. That prevents the team from playing a Week 1 game on Aug. 28.

Beacon Journal consumer columnist and medical reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ and see all her stories at www.beaconjournal.com/topics/linfisher