Michigan State registers just one positive COVID-19 case among 123 athletes tested
It was another strong week of coronavirus testing for Michigan State's athletic department.
There was just one positive case of COVID-19 among 139 athletes and coaches who took polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests from Oct. 15-Thursday. That case was for an athlete, and MSU does not reveal which sports it gets positive test results from, but the 1 of 123 athletes lowered the positivity rate to 0.8%, while the 16 negative tests among staff members dropped it overall to 0.7%.
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That means the Spartans' football game vs. Rutgers on Saturday will be a go. Kickoff is at noon on BTN, but fans will not be permitted at Spartan Stadium.
It marked another decline in the numbers since MSU began using daily rapid antigen tests for its football team. The Spartans had 3 of 81 athletes (3.7%) who took polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests render positive results last week and 6 of 54 (11.1%) who tested positive two weeks ago.
For the individual who tested positive, daily check-ins with athletic training staff will continue while the individual remain in isolation, with additional services provided as directed by the medical and administrative staffs. Further testing and physician follow-up will be required prior to returning to any level of workouts.
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Since June, MSU has conducted at least 2,800 PCR tests for COVID-19 on athletes and staff members. There have been 144 positive cases from at least 2,370 tests on athletes, and eight cases out of more than 430 tests on staff members.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State registers just one COVID-19 case among athletes tested
