Thirteen Maryland sports teams — including football — have resumed practices more than a week after 46 athletes tested positive for COVID-19, an athletic department spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon. Seven teams remained paused until further evaluation.
The outbreak impacted 10 teams, leading to a suspension of all athletic activities on Sept. 3. University President Darryll Pines told the University Senate last Tuesday that the outbreak was related to athletes attending off-campus social gatherings and spreading the virus to other players.
Pines said the suspension of athletic activities was a “reprimand,” while the athletic department has called it a “precautionary measure.”
As of Sept. 3, the cumulative number of positive COVID-19 test results among athletics was 63 out of a total 2,191 tests, for a positivity rate of 2.9 percent. All athletes were retested Sept. 8, but no results from that testing have been released yet.
This university releases results on a department-wide basis, so it is unclear how many cases are related to each team.
