LEXINGTON, Ky. — Houston, we have a problem.
That was the story Friday. Six student-athletes had tested positive for COVID-19 at the University of Houston. Voluntary workouts were halted. The school was partly to blame. Instead of testing when athletes arrived on campus, Houston waited for symptomatic cases. They came. And so did the positive tests.
Friday night brought more bad news. Iowa State reported that 10 of its student-athletes had tested positive for the coronavirus. That included two football players. ISU issued a statement saying none of the 10 was “participating in team activities at the time they were exposed to COVID-19.”
Houston and Iowa State share another common thread. Coronavirus cases are up in both areas. Ames, Iowa, has reported a sharp rise, especially among younger people. Houston is a flat-out hot spot. The nation’s fourth-largest city is currently at code Orange, a Level 2 outbreak.
“I’m growing increasingly concerned that we may be approaching the precipice — the precipice of a disaster,” said Lina Hidalgo, the Harris County judge who is the top official for the county’s 5 million residents.
We’re acting like this coronavirus pandemic is over, but it’s not.
As we try to reopen the economy, 19 states have reported rises in coronavirus cases. Arkansas reported 731 new cases on Friday, the largest number since the pandemic began. Both Florida and South Carolina also reported their highest number of cases for a single day. In Alabama, where now eight Crimson Tide football players have tested positive for COVID-19, the state’s numbers have soared.
Dr. Karen Landers, a physician with the Alabama Department of Health, called it “very discouraging.”
“It is not inevitable that you will have a so-called ‘second wave’ in the fall or even a massive increase if you approach it the right way,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN.
But are we? Friday night my wife and I went in a local restaurant to order carry-out. I counted 10 people either in line or sitting at tables. Four of us wore masks. Six did not. Surprisingly, the six who did not were older people.
“I am deeply worried people are becoming weary,” Alabama’s Landers said.
Back to football. The media interviewed University of Kentucky defensive lineman Josh Paschal via Zoom on Tuesday. Paschal described the safety regimen for on-campus workouts. Each morning, players fill out a health survey on their phones. They receive temperature checks. They aren’t allowed to help fellow athletes up off the ground or floor. No hugs. Disinfectant is everywhere. Masks are mandatory. A cancer survivor, Paschal said he felt confident the school was keeping the players safe.
But what about us? It doesn’t do much good for athletes to take precautions if the public does not. We don’t live in a bubble. The spread is the spread. In talking to numerous health experts, The New York Times science and health writer Donald McNeil wrote: “If we underestimate the virus, it will find us.”
Thursday, the NCAA Football Oversight Committee passed its guidelines for preseason practices leading up to an on-time start of the regular season. If the NCAA Division I council approves the recommendations on Wednesday, coaches can have access to players July 13. Twenty-hour work weeks can start July 24. Fall training camps would open Aug. 7. Kentucky’s opener is scheduled for Sept. 5.
Will there be fans in the stands? Louisville Athletic Director Vince Tyra said Friday he’s not sure. No one is sure. But rising infection and hospitalization rates won’t help. It’s a bumpy road to Labor Day. Maybe we’ll have a vaccine or an effective treatment; more likely we won’t. There will be pauses and hot spots and outbreaks and progress. As Fauci said, “The virus sets the timeline.”
The same day Houston halted workouts, a team of researchers in Texas and California released a new study of COVID-19 infection rate trends in Italy and New York. The study found both areas flattened the curve only after mandatory face mask measures were put in place.
If you want college football in the fall, wear a mask.
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June 15, 2020 at 09:06AM
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National columnist: If you want college football this fall, LSU fans, wear a mask - The Advocate
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