U. of Arizona Athletics To Return After Coronavirus Testing Error

TUCSON, AZ — After announcing Thursday that 13 athletes had tested positive for the coronavirus, the University of Arizona has said that re-testing has lowered the cases to two.

After the 13 positive cases were revealed, the university paused all athletics until Tuesday, except for women's soccer, which was due to be quarantined for 14 days after the bulk of the cases came from the team. At the time, the university said an additional six tests were inconclusive and further testing would be necessary to determine the true spread of the virus.

Upon a rerun of those tests and after extensive contact tracing efforts headed up by Dr. Stephen Paul, director of medical services for the school's athletics department, only two athletes were found to have positive results, said University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins.

"Of course, I am not pleased that we initially reported false positive tests, but I am proud of the protocols put in place in our testing program that enabled Dr. Paul to uncover this issue," Robbins said in a statement. "As we do more comprehensive testing, both on and off campus, it is incumbent on our team to display the same determination and integrity that led to this result. I also want to acknowledge the student-athletes impacted and apologize to them and their families for this disruption in their lives."

The affected athletes and medical staff have been notified of the false positives. Out of an abundance of caution, samples from the athletic department will be re-collected on Tuesday for retesting, according to the news release. All athletic activities are due to resume Wednesday.

"The one positive that has come out of this process has been the reinforcement of our commitment to our contact-tracing protocols," Dr. Paul said. "Because of the honesty and engagement of the participants, we were able to determine there was a potential error in our process."

Student athletes and staff members have been taking part in safety screenings as part of the university's re-entry process. U of A got back to school for the fall semester in mid-August and has been ramping up its efforts of late to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including increased testing, and emphasizing mask-wearing and social distancing on and off-campus.

The most recent testing results on Sept. 4 showed 79 positive cases on campus.