Eight Kansas State student-athletes have now tested positive for coronavirus
The Kansas State athletic department continues to receive disappointing news on the coronavirus front.
Eight of the Wildcats’ student-athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday evening, according to a news release issued by the school.
That announcement ended a wild day of misinformation about K-State athletics and the coronavirus. Riley County health officials began Wednesday by saying that four new football players had tested positive for the illness. Later in the day, a public information officer with the Manhattan city government said that was an error and there were only two new cases. Then, as the evening arrived, K-State clarified that eight of its student-athletes had tested positive.
K-State did not reveal which sports those eight student-athletes play. It said 130 student-athletes have been tested.
In any case, that number is significant. Six or more positive coronavirus tests within one organization is considered to be an outbreak.
Every player who tests positive for the coronavirus will be asked to quarantine for 10 days, in addition to three days without a fever, per K-State’s COVID-19 safety protocol.
The Wildcats have not allowed any of their student-athletes to use team facilities such as weight rooms without first receiving a negative COVID-19 test, so K-State’s football workouts are expected to continue mostly uninterrupted.
However, it’s likely that the players who have tested positive have been in contact with at least some of their teammates in off-campus settings. It is currently unclear if K-State will ask any additional players who may have been exposed to the coronavirus to quarantine. It is also not known how many teammates have been in contact with them.
The Wildcats have taken special precautions to limit exposure within the football team during workouts, including limiting the number of players in their weight room at any given time, wearing masks inside their facility and cleaning equipment after each use. K-State athletic officials said they also screen all athletes and employees as they arrive at the team’s complex.
These new test results are no doubt frustrating for the Wildcats as they try to get back to normal and resume voluntary workouts this week.
The spike in confirmed cases shows how difficult it may be for athletic teams to protect their players from the pandemic. K-State initially reported no positive tests when its first 90 football players were tested early last week, but two were announced Tuesday and two more were discovered Wednesday as testing continued.
K-State football players began working out on campus Monday, the first day allowed by the Big 12 following several months away.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 11:15 AM.