Maryland has suspended voluntary workouts for its football program after nine individuals — not necessarily all football players — tested positive for the coronavirus, the school announced Saturday.
The University Health Center conducted on-campus screenings of 185 student-athletes and staff across several teams on July 7-8. A school spokesperson told ESPN the university is not identifying positive cases by team to protect privacy.
According to a release, the athletic department made the decision to suspend the individual football training under guidance from the Prince Georgie’s County Health Department.
The nine people who tested positive were notified and are currently in self-isolation while university health officials monitor them. Contact tracing is ongoing through the Prince George’s County Health Department, and anyone who is identified during that process will follow a mandated 14-day self-observation period, also under the supervision of university health officials.
The report indicated an uptick in cases since returning to campus last month, as nobody had tested positive in a previous testing of 105 individuals in June. As part of its gradual, phased approach to the return of student-athletes to campus, Maryland has worked with the University Health Center to conduct regular COVID-19 testing. It will continue to publicly release the aggregate number of positive tests at regular intervals.