Virginia Athletics reported two positive COVID-19 results Monday over the 1,038 tests administered between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1. The positivity rate for tests conducted last week was 0.2 percent, but the overall positivity rate including all tests administered since July 5 is 0.9 percent.
“Both positive tests were for staff members,” the Virginia Athletics press release said. “No student-athletes produced a positive test over the seven-day period.”
The positive tests were reported to the Thomas Jefferson Health District of the Virginia Department of Health, and those individuals are following isolation guidelines — either self isolating for 10 days or until symptoms are resolved and the person is fever free for 24 hours, whichever is longer of the two.
The University is required to follow ACC COVID-19 testing protocols. As a result, sports deemed “high-risk” by the ACC Medical Advisory Group — football, volleyball, field hockey and men’s and women’s soccer— are tested three times per week. Sports that deemed “medium-risk” — men’s and women’s cross country — are only tested every other week. While the swimming and diving team began competition this weekend, they are deemed a “low-risk” sport and are not required to be tested.
All COVID-19 testing for Virginia student-athletes is administered by U.Va. Health with the exception of the testing for the football team before game day. This round of tests is administered by the third-party laboratory Mako Medical.
Virginia football had zero student-athletes unavailable for the game against North Carolina this past Saturday — which resulted in an upset win against the nationally ranked team. However, one full-time coach tested positive and was in isolation. This is a decrease from the four players that were unavailable for last week's game.
Currently, Virginia Athletics allows only the families of student-athletes and coaches to attend games and competitions. This regulation was put into place Sept. 4 and will continue for the foreseeable future, as Phase III of Virginia's reopening plan caps stadium capacity at 1,000 attendees.
In contrast to the low number of COVID-19 cases at Virginia, other colleges have had to deal with the consequences of COVID-19. For example, Louisville football — which is scheduled to compete against Virginia this Saturday — is facing COVID-19 issues. The team had five players test positive before their game last weekend, with even more players unavailable due to close contact. These players are not expected to play against Virginia Saturday. In other notable news, the No. 1 Clemson football team’s star junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence tested positive for COVID-19 last week and has already been ruled out of two games. The absence of Lawrence — who is listed as a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy this year — is another reminder of the coronavirus’s impact on college athletics.
As of Monday, there are 26 active cases of COVID-19 in the University community, 13 of which are students. Four percent of the University’s quarantine rooms — for those that have been exposed to someone who tested positive — and two percent of its isolation rooms — for those that have tested positive — are filled.
The University’s COVID-19 tracker includes all of the tests administered to student-athletes. The tracker is updated Monday through Friday by 4 p.m.
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