Notre Dame Football: COVID-19 Test Results for Players and Staff

The Notre Dame football student-athletes and staff were recently tested for COVID-19. The results of those tests were announced on Monday. One student-athlete from the football team has tested positive.

This week, the Notre Dame Athletics Department announced the results of recent COVID-19 tests that were administered to all the football players and staff.

In total, 141 people were tested – 91 student-athletes and 50 staff members. There was only one positive test in the entire group.

The person who tested positive is a student-athlete on the football team. They are asymptomatic, but they will be self-isolating. They will likely be tested again in a couple of weeks. The parents of that student-athlete have also been notified.

Through contact tracing, the staff has identified four other student-athletes on the football team who had interactions with the person who tested positive. Those four student-athletes are also asymptomatic, but they have been instructed to self-quarantine.

The results of the COVID-19 tests at Notre Dame are comforting for players, staff, and fans. Notre Dame’s 2020 season-opener against Navy has already been relocated and rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A significant number of positive COVID-19 tests would be unsettling for student-athletes, their families, and the staff. A couple of football programs across the country have seen just that.

The University of Texas has seen 15 players test positive for COVID-19 while an additional ten football players have been asked to self-quarantine.

A total of 30 football players at LSU have been quarantined because they have either tested positive for COVID-19 or recently encountered someone who has tested positive.

Clemson has had 23 football players and two members of the football team’s staff test positive for COVID-19 since their return to campus.

In comparison, Notre Dame’s one positive test result does not seem all that bad. However, the players and staff must exercise caution. If this spreads to a significant number of players, all team activities will likely be halted – putting the start of the 2020 season at risk.

This is all a humbling reminder that the coronavirus is not going anywhere until we have developed an effective vaccine.