Eight Penn State Student-Athletes Test Positive for COVID-19
Eight Penn State student-athletes have tested positive for COVID-19, the athletic department reported Wednesday. Penn State has conducted 466 tests with 66 pending, according to a department statement.
Last week, Penn State reported its first positive test for COVID-19 among student-athletes. Since releasing its last set of results July 15, Penn State has conducted an additional 288 tests on student-athletes.
All eight positives were recorded in the past two weeks. The sports in which the student-athletes tested positive were not identified.
Athletes from seven teams (men and women's basketball, field hockey, football, men and women's soccer and women's volleyball) are on campus.
The results are through July 24.
"The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the broader community are of the utmost importance. Therefore, as part of the protocols established in the return to campus plan by the Penn State Athletics medical staff and in consultation with University, local and national officials and guidelines, individuals with a positive test have been put into isolation for 14 days and will be retested at that point," the athletic department said in a statement. "In addition to isolation, contact tracing procedures have been implemented, which includes quarantine and testing for those individuals who might have been exposed, even if asymptomatic.
"We expect our student-athletes to follow CDC guidelines for limiting the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks, practicing social distancing, washing their hands regularly and not gathering in large groups."
Penn State's football team has begun the second stage of "summer access" training, in which teams can conduct team meetings and walk-throughs. Players are permitted to participate in 20 hours of conditioning, meetings and film study per week. That includes one hour per day of walk-throughs, in which players can use a football.
Training camp is scheduled to begin Aug. 7, though Penn State's season does not have an official start date. The Big Ten is expected to announce a reframed fall schedule soon.
Two Big Ten programs, Michigan State and Rutgers, have paused their summer workouts because of positive testing within their athletic programs. Iowa's men's basketball team has paused workouts as well.
Earlier this year, Penn State announced that The Nittany Lion Inn, a popular on-campus hotel, would remain closed to the public and used to isolate students and staff who test positive.
Penn State is scheduled to release its next set of results Aug. 12.
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