BREAKING: Florida Gators football put on hold due to COVID-19 outbreak

Florida is facing a moratorium on football activities after a slew of positive COVID-19 tests, according to sources close to the team.

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There appears to be a coronavirus outbreak on the University of Florida’s football team, according to several sources on Tuesday afternoon. UF’s athletic director Scott Stricklin issued a press release earlier in the afternoon after reports began leaking of positive test results for the school’s players.

Initially, the Florida Gators’ official Twitter account posted a statement regarding team activities with Stricklin’s statement.

Out of an abundance of caution, @GatorsFB team activities are paused as of Tuesday afternoon.

Stricklin’s full statement is published below.

The University of Florida football team has experienced an increase in positive COVID tests among players this week. Out of an abundance of caution, team activities are paused as of Tuesday afternoon.

Head coach Dan Mullen has been in communication with football players and their parents, and I have had conversations with the Southeastern Conference office, last week’s opponent Texas A&M, and this week’s opponent LSU.

These circumstances will be re-evaluated by UF Health and the athletic department’s sports medicine staff Wednesday.

This official statement was followed up by Payton Titus, The Independent Florida Alligator’s online editor, who reported the number of positive tests confirmed.

According to sources close to the team, 19 football players have tested positive for COVID-19.

At this point, it is unclear what the ramifications of these results will be for this weekend’s game against the LSU Tigers, but things are looking grimmer and grimmer by the hour.

UPDATE:

I have received conflicting reports from sources close to the athletic department that that number is too high

We will continue to keep you updated as events warrant.

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