The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced on Tuesday it is suspending workouts for its men’s basketball team after two players tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.
This is the first time the department has suspended activities in one of its programs because players have tested positive for the virus.
UI Athletics began recalling athletes to campus at the beginning of June, and started its testing program for athletes, coaches and staff on May 29. Members of the men’s basketball team returned to campus for voluntary workouts on June 15.
The two cases reported on Tuesday bring the total number of confirmed cases in the department’s programs to 29.
Prior to this, the department had not disclosed whether individuals who tested positive were students or staff when it announced test results. But during a July 16 press conference, Coach Kirk Ferentz said some of his football players were among the confirmed cases. He did not say how many players were infected.
“If there are any positives at this point, the symptoms have been relatively minor,” Ferentz told reporters. “Nobody has really been affected greatly. No hospitalizations, those types of things.”
Workouts for the basketball team are scheduled to resume in two weeks.
