EAST LANSING- During the week of Oct. 23-28, Michigan State Athletics tested 38 student-athletes and 10 staff members for COVID-19. No student-athletes tested positive for the virus; one staff member did test positive.

Ever since the massive outbreak of COVID-19 that caused 45 student-athletes to test positive back in mid-September, the number of positive cases amongst the student-athlete community has steadily decreased. 

Since the beginning of June, Michigan State Athletics has administered over 2,800 COVID-19 tests to student-athletes and staff members. 144 student-athletes and nine staff members have contracted the virus since the testing program began.

The staff member who did test positive will be isolated from the rest of the program until their symptoms subside. If a student-athlete tests positive for COVID-19, they are held out of competition for a minimum of 21 days until extensive heart screenings and medical exams can be administered. Furthermore, if an athletic team’s positive cases rise above a certain threshold, the conference mandates that all activities must cease for at least a week. 

The coronavirus has already forced one Big Ten School (Wisconsin) to cancel their scheduled game against Nebraska this Saturday. Regardless of when the Badgers return to the field, Graham Mertz—the starting quarterback for Wisconsin—will be sidelined for a minimum of three weeks after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Jeff Brohm, the head football coach for Purdue, was forced to miss the Boilermakers season opener against Iowa after testing positive for COVID-19.  

The latest testing results can be found on the universities COVID-19 dashboard.