Maryland suspends summer workouts after nine athletes and staff test positive for COVID-19
Positive tests came after many athletes went home for July 4th holiday weekend
Maryland has become the latest school to have its summer football workouts interrupted after nine student-athletes and staff members tested positive for COVID-19, the athletic department announced Saturday.
The announcement came after tests were administered to 185 student-athletes and staff members on July 7 and 8, following a holiday weekend which saw many players and staff members go home.
According to a statement sent out by the athletic department, the nine athletes and staff members are in self-isolation and are being monitored by the university health officials.
A previous round of testing of 105 student-athletes and staff members in early June resulted in no positive tests. Prior to their return to campus, athletes and staff members were required to self-isolate for 14 days.
Contact tracing is currently being conducted by the Prince George’s County Health Department and all individuals believed to be exposed to the coronavirus will start two weeks of self-isolation and observation as well.
The announcement by Maryland comes on the heels of a similar decision made earlier in the week at Ohio State, where an undisclosed number of student-athletes tested positive.
Several other Power 5 programs - including Kansas and Kansas State - suspended workouts in the past month after multiple football players tested positive.
Schools such as Clemson and LSU, which had large outbreaks of COVID-19 last month, put those who tested positive or were in contact with those athletes in quarantine, but continued to hold workouts for those who tested negative.
On Thursday, the Big Ten Conference announced that non-conference games for the 2020 season for all fall sports would be canceled.
According to an athletic department spokesman, several other teams, including men’s and women’s basketball, are still scheduled to begin summer workouts in College Park on Monday.