Washington Says 2 Athletes Have Tested Positive for Virus, Doesn't ID Sport
In a second week of coronavirus testing on campus, two University of Washington athletes among 119 turned up positive for the disease, a school spokesman said Wednesday.
The UW official was asked but could not specify which sport or sports were involved. The 119 total is from athletes examined over two weeks.
The school has permitted athletes from its 18 different sports to use its athletic training facilities on a voluntary basis but only in a medically controlled and phased approach.
Washington has fared better with coronavirus cases than schools such as Clemson, which has 28 positive athletes, including 23 football players; LSU, which has 30 football players in quarantine after being in contact with someone who is known to have the virus; and Kansas State, which shut down its facilities after 14 of 130 athletes tested were shown positive.
According to Husky head football trainer Rob Scheidegger, none of the school's 650 athletes had tested positive while away from school the past three months.
At the UW, each athlete must use one entryway, sign in and be tested. Groups of around 100 are being monitored for the virus.
To provide social distancing, six different weight stations were set up in the concourses of Husky Stadium, in open and under cover.
NCAA schools are trying to maintain the health of their students with the possibility of football practices being offered in mid-July (see the accompanying video).
The season's first football games are scheduled for two months from now. Medical professionals fear a second wave of positive coronavirus cases nationwide could scuttle part or all of the coming season.
