Zero of 178 coronavirus tests administered by Penn State on its athletes have come back positive, the university announced Wednesday.
Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour on July 1 said PSU would be releasing data regarding its covid-19 testing of athletes biweekly on Wednesdays. An emailed 34-word release from the school for this update said 178 tests have been completed with zero positives and 31 pending tests.
The school is not breaking down tests by sport. Athletes from select fall and winter sports were gradually welcomed back to campus last month, with submitting to a covid-19 test upon arrival part of protocol. On July 1, Barbour said none of 102 tests had come back positive.
University policy is athletes will not be tested again unless they are symptomatic, provided they do not travel. Any athlete who leaves State College will be required to isolate and submit to a test upon return to campus.
Based on which teams had been on campus and what tests were returned by that date, the July 1 data release suggested at least 70 football players had been tested and had been negative. Barring any atypical delays in the processing of the tests, by now virtually every football player should have been tested and gotten results back.
Penn State has not begun formal team workouts or practices with coaches present. The Big Ten last week cancelled all nonconference games for the upcoming season, and the 2020 season seems to be in peril.
PSU is not publicly releasing data on covid-19 testing of coaches or other staff members.
