Penn State Reports No New COVID-19 Cases Among Athletes

Penn State released its latest COVID-19 testing numbers. They indicated continued success in the athletic department.

Penn State released its latest round of COVID-19 testing numbers Wednesday, one day after the Big Ten postponed its fall sports season.

The good news: Penn State reported no new positive tests since its last update July 29. The bad news: It didn't matter.

Eight Penn State athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 since football players began the return process in early June. Since then, athletes from six other teams returned to campus for voluntary workouts.

Penn State said it had conducted 560 tests through Aug. 7. Three results were outstanding. Penn State's positive rate was 1.4 percent.

Athletes who tested positive were isolated for 14 days and retested when the period ended, the athletic department said. Penn State did not release the sports in which the athletes who tested positive competed.

Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour last week praised the athletes for their adherence to the workout protocols Penn State had in place. On Tuesday, football coach James Franklin said that his program underwent its latest round of testing the day before. He had hoped the Big Ten would pause its plans to halt the season.

"Our medical staff, in conjunction with local and state health officials, created an in-depth medical plan and protocols to do our best to keep our student-athletes and staff healthy and safe," Barbour said. "Our student-athletes did an amazing job of following the protocols we had in place and I am so appreciative of the sacrifices they have made these last few months. I am so proud of how they have and continue to represent Penn State."

Dianne Freiermuth, president of the Penn State Football Parents Association, said she believed the players were safer at Penn State regarding the virus than they would be elsewhere.

"Our sons are regularly tested and contact tracing protocols have been developed to ensure player safety as well as parent confidence," Freiermuth wrote in a letter on behalf of the Parents Association. "A small number of athletes have been quarantined and isolated as an appropriate response I truly believe that these young men are being cared for both physically and mentally in a manner that could not be replicated in their own homes."

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