MANSFIELD, Conn. — UConn said they are pausing football activities after six of their football student-athletes tested positive for the coronavirus.
The affected student-athletes have entered into isolation protocol per medical guidelines, according to the university.
"Following these most recent test results, we feel that temporarily pausing football activities is the best course of action for the team and the campus population," director of athletics David Benedict said. "The well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff is our top priority and we are focused on the health of those who have become infected. We will remain vigilant in this area and will take all necessary action to ensure the health of our university community."
UConn said strength and conditioning training will be the only activity permitted for those who are not in medical quarantine or isolation.
The training will take place within small groups while everyone adheres to physical distancing and masking protocols. Team meetings will continue to take place in a virtual setting.
Disciplinary action
UConn has already had to enable disciplinary action against students who attended an "unapproved gathering" in a resident hall.
UConn said in a written statement released Tuesday evening, school officials were informed that several students were identified by residential life who attended the gathering. The University said the students who attended, did not wear masks and were closely assembled. UConn continued by saying these actions put in danger not only the students who attended but others in the campus community.
“It takes one to ruin the whole situation and that’s what we’ve been seeing with that one party," said Junior, UConn football plater Alex Wyant. "You got a couple of guys being irresponsible throwing a party not wearing masks. They are going to jeopardize the whole situation here. Me, personally, I don’t want to go home. I love this place. I don’t want a few people to ruin it for the rest of us."
Last week, UConn began to allow students to move back onto campus in limited numbers and has been testing the students for COVID-19.
UConn students, staff testing positive
UConn had a slight uptick in positive cases with three more students testing positive Wednesday for COVID-19. There are now eight students in the Storrs campus who are confirmed to have the virus. The overall positivity rate of UConn is 0.16%.
As for off-campus students, there have been three commuter students who have tested positive for the virus. There are also two staff members confirmed to have the virus.
The university has prepared isolation beds for students at Storrs to quarantine them from the rest of the student body.
UConn released a COVID-19 dashboard as a way to show its COVID-19 statistics. The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon.
The website shows the number of on-campus students tested for COVID-19, the students who tested positive, the positivity rate, and the current students who have the virus.
To view the website, click here.
UConn is also working with the Governor's office to support Mansfield in approving a local ordinance that would ban gatherings of 25 people or more. Many UConn students rent off-campus properties.
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