FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas is facing perhaps its most challenging in-season covid-19 football issue of the fall this week, multiple sources have told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Two staff members, who are not on-field coaches, and at least one player received a positive result from coronavirus testing conducted on Sunday, the Democrat-Gazette has learned. The resulting contact tracing has led to quarantining for a number of personnel, both players and staff.
However, Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said Tuesday afternoon the Razorbacks’ roster numbers at this point are in good shape as it pertains to the mandatory levels required by the SEC medical guidance task force to play a game. The Razorbacks (3-4) are scheduled to host LSU at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
“We have been dealing with positive tests and quarantining among all of our sports since our student-athletes returned back in June,” Yurachek told the Democrat-Gazette. “We will continue to deal with that. We’re dealing with it now. But it’s not impacting our ability to play games right now.
“As we sit here today with the testing results that I know from Sunday, we’re in great shape to play football on Saturday.”
The UA athletic department has provided only a few updates on testing results and quarantining since the pandemic hit in March, and it did not on Tuesday. Players and staff on the football team were undergoing their second round of testing for the week on Tuesday, and those results are due back Wednesday morning.
Yurachek said the UA women’s soccer team’s game tonight in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala., would be the 47th competition of the fall for the Razorbacks with no cancellations yet.