Rutgers football has halted its voluntary training due to six recent positive cases of the new coronavirus, two people with knowledge of the situation told NJ Advance Media, and the entire program has been quarantined.
The news was first reported on Rutgers Sports Insider, NJ.com’s subscription text messaging service.
“Since returning to campus on June 15, Rutgers soccer has undergone four positive tests for COVID-19. Today we learn of six additional positive COVID-19 results in our last weekly test cycle, ”according to a university statement released Saturday. “As a result, we have paused all team activities in person, have quarantined our entire program, and will work diligently with Rutgers’ medical experts and state and local officials to determine next steps.”
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The news comes a day after Michigan State announced that its entire soccer team would be quarantined for 14 days after positive cases within the program. Rutgers is the fifth Big Ten team to stop training due to positives, joining Ohio State, Maryland, Indiana and the Spartans, and it could be the most shocking instance so far like Big Ten and the rest of the major soccer conferences. college, fight to play the fall season amidst the pandemic.
While New Jersey was an epicenter from the start, Governor Phil Murphy said Friday that New Jersey is the only state in the nation that has seen its number of new coronavirus cases drop for a full two weeks. The fact that his only FBS show had to stop workouts could be seen as a national red flag.
Rutgers had not been publicly reporting his test results prior to Saturday, unlike most Big Ten shows. NJ Advance Media reported on June 21 that the soccer program had two positive cases during its initial evaluation round. Head coach Greg Schiano confirmed the report a day later.
The Big Ten has already announced plans to play conference-only schedules in soccer and its other fall sports. But it hasn’t released revised schedules for Rutgers and its 13 other members yet.
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James Kratch can be contacted at [email protected].
