Pac-12 will get quicker COVID test results
The Pac-12 Conference announced Thursday that it has entered into an agreement with diagnostic test leader Quidel Corporation to implement up to daily testing for COVID-19 with student-athletes across all of its campuses for all close-contact sports.
The agreement is a major step toward the safe return of sports competition in the Pac12. The arrangement with Quidel will provide for frequent testing with rapid results, which had been one of the key concerns in the prior decision by the Pac-12 to postpone sport competition.
Quidel's Sofia 2 testing machines and tests are expected to be delivered to each of the Pac- 12' s athletic departments by the end of September 2020. Over the coming weeks, the Pac-12 plans to review this latest testing breakthrough with its sport planning committees and to evaluate the impact on return to competition scenarios.
"This is a major step toward the safe resumption of Pac- 12 sport competitions,” said Pac- 12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “The availability of a reliable test that can be administered daily, with almost immediate results, addresses one of the key concerns that was expressed by our medical advisory committee, as well as by student- athletes, coaches and others. At the same time, our partnership with Quidel, the industry leader in point- of- care antigen testing, will provide crucial research data that will benefit our members' communities as well as the entire country.”
Douglas Bryant, Quidel's president and CEO, said: “We are pleased to participate in this innovative arrangement that will help protect Pac-12 studentathletes and allow them to return to play while contributing to further understanding of the COVID- 19 virus that will benefit all of society. With its well-established medical research program, the Pac- 12 is an ideal partner to help us develop and document the most effective coronavirus testing protocol to serve our families and communities.”
Some Power 5 conference schools decline to provide COVID data
As college football and other athletic competition at universities are scheduled to resume, nearly half of the schools in Power 5 conferences declined to provide data regarding their respective COVID- 19 infections, according to a survey conducted by ESPN.
According to the survey, almost onethird of the programs
declined to provide data on infections, as well as information about their protocols in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Twentyone of the schools ESPN surveyed were in conferences (the ACC, Big 12 and SEC) that are scheduled to resume college sports athletics in the fall.
Several of the schools that declined to provide the data or protocol measures cited federal student privacy laws, despite not needing to release student names in the survey.
Among the schools declining to provide athlete testing data were LSU, Georgia, Auburn, Ohio State, Nebraska, Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Oregon and UCLA.
According to ESPN, 10 schools answered all of the questions on the survey, including four – Clemson, Iowa State, Missouri and Oklahoma – who are set to resume college sports. The other six that fully cooperated with the survey were Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Oregon State and Stanford.