The Clemson Tigers football program is in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak after 23 players and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.
As universities have slowly brought student-athletes back to campus for voluntary workouts, the number of positive COVID-19 tests keeps skyrocket. On Friday, Clemson became the latest program to experience an outbreak.
Clemson announces 28 positive COVID-19 tests among student-athletes
Clemson University’s athletics department announced on Friday that 28 members of its program tested positive for the coronavirus. Now, per The Athletic’s Grace Raynor, we’ve learned that a majority of the cases come from the football team.
A week prior, Clemson had announced just two of its football players tested positive for the coronavirus. Unfortunately, with everyone in close proximity and working out together, the virus quickly spread.
According to the report, more than half of the players are asymptomatic and should be on the road to recovery. Among all 23 cases, no player has required hospitalized. The university will now require each player who tested positive to stay in quarantine for at least 10 days before they can be tested to determine if they can leave isolation.
COVID-19 outbreak across college football
The NCAA lifted its moratorium on voluntary athletic activities starting on June 1. Since that time, with thousands of athletes returning to campuses across the country, the number of cases has skyrocketed.
- Texas Longhorns announce 13 football players test positive for COVID-19
- The University of Colorado announced two of its players tested positive this week
- Six student-athletes at the University of Houston contracted the virus
- Two Kansas State football players worked out with teammates while they had the coronavirus
While a few programs have been fortunate to avoid any positive cases, the alarming trend in college football is getting worse. As time goes on and the number of positive cases increases, things look less promising for the chances of a potential season.