Terps suspend all athletic activities after spike
The University of Maryland has suspended “all athletics training activities” after a spike in coronavirus cases, the athletic department announced Thursday.
The school said that 501 student-athletes were tested for COVID-19 on Monday and Tuesday, returning 46 positive tests affecting 10 teams. Student-athletes will be tested again Tuesday.
The athletic department brought student-athletes back to campus in June for summer workouts and periodically released testing updates. Cumulatively, the department has announced 63 positive cases among 2,191 tests administered, a positivity rate of 2.9%.
“As we experience an unprecedented year in college athletics and across the entire country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to keep the health, safety and welfare of our student-athletes and staff first and foremost,” Maryland athletic director Damon Evans said in a news release. “The most recent testing results have revealed an uptick in positive tests among Maryland student-athletes. Out of an abundance of caution, we are temporarily pausing all workouts for our programs.
“We continue to educate our studentathletes and staff about best practices and protocols to be safe this time. We look forward to when our student-athletes can safely return to workouts and then restart their seasons.”
Maryland last released COVID-19 testing updates Aug. 4, reporting zero positive cases for the second straight week. At the time, the school had 12 positive results among 964 administered tests, a positivity rate of 1.2%. Maryland temporarily paused its football workouts in July after nine individuals tested positive for COVID-19.
The Big Ten Conference in August announced it would postpone fall sports, citing health concerns with the coronavirus. While the Pac-12 also announced the postponement of its fall sports season, the remaining Power Five leagues — the Atlantic
Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference and Big 12 — are planning to begin their seasons this month.
Maryland continued to allow football players to work out, and those who choose to do so have been tested for COVID-19.
After several conferences postponed their fall sports seasons, the NCAA Division I Council in August approved a 12-hour weekly practice schedule consisting of strength and conditioning; team, position and individual meetings; and film review. Teams are permitted to spend a maximum of five hours conducting on-field activities with helmets.
The University of Maryland resumed classes this week, many of which are online.
The university also announced a COVID-19 dashboard to provide frequent data on the prevalence of COVID-19 within the campus community. According to the dashboard, the university has registered a positivity rate of 0.26%. Students and staff returning to campus were required to be tested for COVID-19 in advance.