Eight Cal athletes test positive since return to campus

Eight Cal athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 since returning to campus last month for voluntary workouts, school athletic officials announced Thursday.

The school conducted 250 tests on 125 athletes, some of whom were tested multiple times, the university statement said. The announcement said it did not identify the sports in which athletes tested positive because of privacy concerns.

School officials announced on June 30 they had three positive results after 96 athletes had been tested at University Health Services since returning to campus. Sports Illustrated reported at the time that most of the tests involved football players.

The latest results mean school health officials have five positive tests this month.

“Some individuals received more than one test, such as at the beginning and end of their initial self-quarantine period per campus guidelines, as a result of contact tracing, or as part of ongoing surveillance testing,” the statement said. “We have confidence in the protocols we have in place and the results are in line with expectations.”

The announcement comes as the country has seen an increase in positive cases, particularly in the South and West. California lawmakers have rolled back reopening plans because of the outbreak.

The state had 9,088 positive results Wednesday, according to data compiled by this news organization, raising its seven-day average to 8,864 new cases per day. Also, 132 Californians died because of the virus, the fourth-most in a single day. The figure raised the daily death toll to an average of 92 per day over the past week.

Berkeley officials had announced on June 17 that athletes could return to campus in preparation for voluntary outdoor conditioning workouts. But the school statement on June 30 said no athletic activities have begun and the “start of workouts has been delayed pending sufficient progress on contact tracing.”

Cal officials said in that statement that all athletes and staff must complete mandatory educational training, including information on COVID-19 signs, symptoms, evaluation and testing, as well as infection prevention and control before returning to campus. “This is in addition to any university-required training and is specific to athletic activities,” the statement read.

A Cal spokesman said school officials do not know how many athletes will be tested because summer workouts are voluntary.