South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Tide’s Saban cleared for showdown
Keeping an eye on the world of sports during the pandemic:
Alabama coach Nick Saban, who tested positive for the coronavirus Wednesday, was “medically cleared” to direct the second-ranked Crimson Tide on Saturday night against No. 3Georgia.
Under the SEC’s health protocols, Saban was allowed to exit isolation far earlier than firstanticipatedbecausehewas asymptomatic and tested negative for the virus three times in the days following his initial positive result. That streak of negative tests, administered through a conference-sanctioned laboratory, led Alabama and conference officials to conclude that Saban had a false positive resultWednesday.
Alabama also said Saban underwenttwoadditional tests that were processed by another lab and returned as negative.
“Coach Saban is medically cleared to safely return to activity effective immediately,” Dr. Jimmy Robinson, a team doctor, said in a statement Saturday, adding that Saban “remained completely symptom-free.”
The college football world was still stunned when Saban, 68, announced Wednesday that he had tested positive for the virus and entered isolation at hishomeinTuscaloosa. The result came from what is considered the most reliable type of test for the virus: a polymerase chain reaction test, known as a PCR.
Saban — who was often seen wearing a mask during games — and university officials repeatedly asserted that he was not experiencing any symptoms, and he maintained an active schedule, coaching practice remotely and appearing on a radio show.
Under a new SEC procedure, a person who tests positive may, within 24 hours of that result, take a new PCR test. If that test shows a negative result, the person can take twomore PCR tests, each separated by 24 hours.
If those tests also return negative results and the person remains asymptomatic, the player, coach or staff member “maybereleasedfromisolation and medically clearedto return to athletics activities only,” according to SEC guidelines.