Mizzou Athletics announces five positive COVID-19 results after testing more than 300
Missouri Athletics announced Thursday that of 308 individuals tested for COVID-19, five have tested positive.
Of those five individuals, four are student-athletes, an MU spokesperson told The Star.
Mizzou started testing student-athletes and other personnel ahead of voluntary workouts, which began June 8 with football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball players. Since then, other MU sports have started to return in a phased process.
Those who tested positive will follow the procedures set for them by the athletic program, including quarantining and contact tracing. They’ll be isolated for about two weeks and tested again before rejoining any team activities.
As other schools around the nation, inlcuding K-State and Kansas, publicly announced their positive COVID-19 tests, Mizzou initially reported them only to Boone County.
Of the five reported positives, four were asymptomatic.
The five reported positives represent a number that’s lower than some other schools, including Kansas State, which shut down its voluntary workouts after 14 student-athletes were found to be positive for the novel coronavirus. Other schools, such as LSU and Clemson, reported positive cases in the dozens after some players reportedly went out to bars.
Mizzou football players have taken their own measures to stay safe, according to MU tight end Daniel Parker Jr. He said the team is focusing on accountability and respect in hopes of seeing an on-time start to the season in early September.
Originally, Mizzou was not going to test all of its student-athletes who returned to campus ahead of the voluntary workouts. The SEC Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force didn’t recommend testing everyone — just those who were exhibiting symptoms or who were traveling to Columbia from hot-spot areas.
MU reversed course, however, and decided to test all student-athletes.
The next step toward an on-time football season would come in mid-July, when activity would ramp up ahead of a proposed August training camp. The Tigers are scheduled to kick off their season on Sept. 5 against Central Arkansas.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 4:02 PM.