Hawaii football players get clean bill of health for now
No University of Hawaii football player or coach is known to have tested positive for COVID-19, school officials confirmed.
Officials said an undisclosed number of Rainbow Warriors have been tested and, as of Friday, there were no known positive results for exposure to the coronavirus.
“Approximately 100 football student-athletes are working out, and none (has) tested positive since arriving on campus (two weeks ago),” officials wrote in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “The university will not disclose the exact number of tests we have arranged for, and individuals may have been tested without our knowledge.”
Officials said players who arrived from the mainland went through the state-mandated, 14-day quarantine. Each day, players are screened, a process that includes temperature readings, medical exams, and completing a questionnaire on exposure risks. In addition, suspicion-based testing is being performed, officials said.
“First of all, we are complying with all current state and county mandates, as well as NCAA guidelines,” officials wrote in response to a Star-Advertiser query. “Football student-athletes coming from out of state have been subject to a 14-day quarantine prior to receiving their pre-participation medical exam and being allowed to come to campus and participate. Additionally, every student-athlete is being screened every day prior to coming to campus. We are currently doing suspicion-based testing, and we have plans to implement additional testing should the mandated state quarantine be removed. We will also comply with the university’s modified quarantine procedure for students once it’s approved.”
Officials declined to pinpoint the cost of the tests, insisting, “costs are variable and can’t be determined at this time.”
Asked if other non-football athletes have been tested, officials wrote, “again, we will not disclose the number of tests we have arranged for. We will continue to test based on any symptoms received through daily student-athlete screening and/or any exposures we’ve become aware of.”
The football Warriors are the only UH sports team currently going through organized workouts on campus.
The Warriors’ offseason program was suspended in March because of the pandemic, which resulted spring training being canceled and redirecting classes to online-only instruction. But an NCAA measure — backed by school officials and state guidelines — allowed the Warriors to begin organized weight training and conditioning drills on July 6. On Friday, the Warriors were allowed to add walk-through sessions and team meetings. The Warriors expect to adhere to a timetable in which training camp would open on July 31.
Head coach Todd Graham said the Warriors practice social distancing during all drills. He also said team meetings are held outdoors with small groups, with players sitting at least 6 feet apart from each other. The rest of the players watch Zoom videocasts of the meetings on monitors placed on the concourse fronting Les Murakami Stadium. The training room is available only through appointments. The athletic trainers tape players’ ankles in an outdoor area. The locker room also is restricted.
