Ole Miss has “manageable” COVID-19 outbreak
OXFORD — Ole Miss football had stayed almost completely COVID-19 free since the start of November, but that changed Sunday according to coach Lane Kiffin.
“We just got hit with a few of them yesterday,” Kiffin said. You've always got to have plans in place for that because, as you guys know, with that you never know what's going to happen.”
Kiffin didn't give an exact count for the number of players who will be quarantined but he did say the case number is “manageable” and doesn't threaten the upcoming practice or game schedule.
Ole Miss had two starters miss two games in October while in COVID-19 protocols but since then has had very few players who've missed time and no significant players who have explicitly missed games because of the virus. Kiffin said he hasn't changed his messaging about staying safe during the season, even as case counts have spiked across the country since early November.
“It is manageable, but my fear always is when you get a few then it just starts trickling. Who are they around? Even if they're not roommates. I really like obviously when it's zero like it was last week.”
The Ole Miss coronavirus dashboard, which keeps track of all the positive COVID-19 cases among university students, faculty and staff, has not been updated since the Thanksgiving holiday. The last positive cases reported in the dashboard came on Nov. 25.
Ole Miss does not have a game on Saturday. It is expected that the Rebels will play games on Dec. 12 and Dec. 19 against Texas A&M and LSU, but the SEC hasn't officially rescheduled those dates yet.
Per SEC protocols, any player who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday would be eligible to return by Dec. 12, but players who were found to be in close contact with anyone who tested positive Sunday likely would not be eligible.
Kiffin's Rebels are 4-4 and have won three games in a row, including a victory over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl over the weekend.