Iowa Reports 4 More Positive COVID-19 Tests

21 positives have been found since athletic department reported.

Iowa's athletic department reported four positive COVID-19 tests out of five conducted last week.

The testing period ran from June 29-July 5.

Iowa has been testing athletes, coaches and staff under the return-to-campus protocol since May 29. A total of 21 positive tests and 392 negative tests (5 percent) have been received. The university does not announce whether the positive tests belonged to athletes, coaches or staff.

Anyone who tests positive must go through the protocol established by the athletic department, which includes contact tracing procedures,  isolation for the individuals who test positive, and quarantine for those individuals who might have been exposed to someone with the virus.

Iowa began voluntary workouts for the returning members of the football team on June 8, with workouts for incoming football players and members of the men's and women's basketball teams beginning June 15.

Iowa shut down its campus and athletic facilities in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said in a video conference with the media in late May that it was likely that there would be athletes, coaches or staff who would test positive for the virus.

"It's not a matter of if someone gets the virus," Barta said. "It's a matter of when. And the answer is ... and please, I’ll present this in a way, and when it comes out, I hope it comes out the right way … if one person were to get sick, and we were to shut down, we might as well not open up.

“And let me just explain myself. We expect that there will be students on this campus, there will be staff on this campus, who will get the virus. We will have medical plans on the treatment of those students, or those faculty (members), or those staff, just like the community has. And we will manage it with contact tracing, making sure that we’re aware of where that person was, and then going through a protocol to return. That’s the way it’s going to be approached — not if, but when someone gets the virus, student or staff, having a plan in place.”