Penn State Athletics Reports Five New Student-Athlete Coronavirus Cases
Five more Penn State student-athletes have tested positive for the coronavirus, Penn State Athletics announced in its weekly testing report Wednesday.
Between December 12 and 18, the department administered 1,005 tests, resulting in five new positives. This represents a small increase from last week’s report of just one new case.
Wednesday’s reported figures bring Athletics’ cumulative positive tests to 204 since testing began earlier this summer. Penn State has performed 20,706 tests since student-athletes returned to campus.
Penn State Athletics did not indicate any of its programs have paused activities following the reported positives. The department didn’t respond to a request for further comment.
The newly reported figures are already factored into Penn State’s COVID-19 Dashboard, which aggregates coronavirus testing data across the university.
Each student-athlete who’s tested positive to date has entered a 14-day isolation period before undergoing additional tests and resuming organized activities. When positives are reported, Penn State said it will also implement contact tracing to identify individuals who may have crossed paths with those affected. Identified individuals will also be quarantined, even if they’re asymptomatic.
“The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the broader community are of the utmost importance,” Athletics said in a statement. “We expect our student-athletes to follow University requirements and guidelines for limiting the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks, practicing social distancing, washing their hands regularly and not gathering in large groups.”
Penn State Athletics reports updated student-athlete coronavirus testing data every Wednesday.
Penn State has reported 5,052 positive cases among University Park students since testing began on August 7.
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