Tag: positive

Alvin Kamara tests positive for COVID-19, awaiting second test’s confirmation

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara tested positive for COVID-19 and is waiting confirmation on results, which may shape the playoff picture.

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The New Orleans Saints were missing an important piece of their offense during Friday’s training session: running back Alvin Kamara, who was absent while waiting on results for a COVID-19 test. Kamara previously tested positive before receiving a second test, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. Underhill added that Kamara has not yet exhibited any symptoms of an infection. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero confirmed the news.

This is significant for a number of reasons, though the most important is obviously Kamara’s health and well-being. Any players designated to the league’s COVID-19 reserve list on Friday would miss the following Sunday’s Week 17 games, with doubts raised about their availability for the upcoming Wild Card Round of the playoffs.

If Kamara is confirmed to have tested positive, he would be forced to quarantine for 10 days — meaning the soonest he could return is Sunday, Jan. 10, possibly after the Saints have already finished playing on Saturday (the exact playoff schedule is yet to be decided). They’re already expecting to be without safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, so it’s possible both the offense and the defense go into the playoffs without two of their best players.

For now, Kamara is waiting on the results from a second retest to confirm whether he has contracted the coronavirus. This is a developing story, so check back often for updates.

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Falcons and Colts re-open practice facilities after COVID-19 results

The Detroit Lions’ Week 7 and Week 8 opponents, the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts have re-opened their training facilities.

On Thursday, the Detroit Lions’ Week 7 opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, were forced to shut down their facilities due to a positive COVID-19 test. Today, the Lions’ Week 8 opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, received four positive COVID-19 results and also had to shut down their training facility.

Fortunately, both by late Friday morning, both teams were able to re-open their facilities. Welcome to the roller coaster that is the 2020 NFL season.

The Falcons players and staff were tested, after the one staff member’s positive test on Thursday, and all those tests came back negative today, allowing them to re-open their facilities.

The Colts began an exploratory process of double-checking their positive test results and issued the following statement from the organization:

This morning, we were informed that several individuals within our organization have tested positive for COVID-19. The team is currently in the process of confirming those tests. In the meantime, the practice facility will be closed and the team will work remotely while following NFL protocols. We are in communication with the NFL and will have more information when available.

The Colts began virtual meetings, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, and Sunday’s game with the Cincinnati Bengals remained on track to be played at it’s scheduled time.

Once testing was complete, the team confirmed that the four positive tests were retested and determined to be negative:

Earlier this morning, we were informed that four individuals within the organization tested positive for COVID-19. The four positive samples were re-tested and have been confirmed negative. After consultation with the NFL and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Allen Sills, the team will open the practice facility this afternoon under the league’s intensive protocol and will continue preparation for Sunday’s game against Cincinnati.

They are currently in the process of reopening their training facilities.

With both teams being over a week away from playing the Lions, things appear to be on track for those games to play out as planned, but as we saw in Week 4 with the Saints false-positive scare, this season is going to be unpredictable when it comes to COVID-19 and testing.

Keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle, and make sure your safety bar is secured, it’s just another day in the 2020 NFL season.

BetMGM removes betting line for Alabama-Georgia

Alabama vs. Georgia betting lines have been taken off the BetMGM site less than 24 hours after Nick Saban annunced a positive COVID-19 test.

Less than 24 hours after Alabama football head coach Nick Saban announced the positive diagnosis of COVID-19, BetMGM removes the betting line for the Crimson Tide’s Week 4 contest against the Georgia Bulldogs.

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The line was originally set with 6.5 points in Alabama’s favor; however, just before being removed, it dropped down to 4.

The removal of the line was not done with reason, leaving the public, and sports bettors, left to speculate if oddsmakers think the game will be played.

If Alabama vs. Georgia get canceled, it would be the third game to be taken off the SEC schedule for Week 4. The others being LSU vs. Florida and Vanderbilt vs. Missouri.

There’s no official word yet from either program regarding cancellation or postponement.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on all things Alabama football as the Crimson Tide is set to face off against the Bulldogs this Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

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Report: Chiefs assistant coach tests positive for COVID-19

Another positive COVID-19 case for the Kansas City Chiefs, this time on the coaching staff.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a new positive COVID-19 case according to a new report, but it isn’t a player.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a Chiefs’ strength and conditioning coach has tested positive for COVID-19. While the coach remained unnamed in the report, the Chiefs have four coaches listed on their strength and conditioning coaching roster: Head strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin and his assistants Travis Crittenden and Greg Carbin. There is also Ryan Reynolds, who holds the title of sports science and conditioning coach.

According to Schefter’s report, contact tracing is ongoing. It’s not clear whether this positive test could have any impact on the upcoming Week 5 game against the Raiders in Kansas City. It’s possible that any close contacts would simply be unable to participate on game day.

This is the second COVID-19 positive case the Chiefs have had since the season began. Practice squad QB Jordan Ta’amu remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list after testing positive ahead of the teams’ Week 4 game against the New England Patriots.

Obviously, this is a sub-optimal situation to have to deal with on a Saturday ahead of a Sunday game. It raises concerns about Ta’amu’s positive test not being an isolated incident or potential exposures during the Patriots game in Week 4.

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Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore tests positive for COVID-19 following Week 4 vs. Chiefs

Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore has tested positive for COVID-19 per multiple reports.

The Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots played their rescheduled Week 4 game on Monday night. The game was rescheduled following two positive COVID-19 cases, one on each team. After multiple batteries of testing, those were the only two positive cases as of Monday night. Now, on Wednesday morning we’ve learned that another Patriots player has tested positive for COVID-19.

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore has tested positive for COVID-19 as first reported by NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero. Gilmore is feeling alright and is asymptomatic according to NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year was tasked with defending against players like Sammy Watkins and Tyreek Hill throughout the Week 4 game in Kansas City.

Of course, Gilmore was pictured after the game in very close proximity to Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The good news there is that Kansas City has received the all-clear on its latest round of COVID-19 testing according to ESPN’s Dianna Russini. Obviously, Chiefs fans will be holding their breath all week on that one.

This new positive case certainly is an eyebrow-raising situation for the Patriots and the NFL. If any new positive cases arise as a result of this case, it will beg the question of whether the game should have been played in the first place.

As for the Chiefs’ upcoming Week 5 game, it’s now in question following DT Maurice Hurst’s addition to the COVID-19 reserve list and a second player testing positive on Wednesday.

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Lions vs Saints game in jeopardy as Saints players tests positive for COVID-19

A New Orleans Saints player has tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Detroit for their Week 4 game with the Lions, putting this week’s game in jeopardy.

Multiple sources are reporting that New Orleans Saints player — and former Detroit Lion — fullback Michael Burton has tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Detroit for their Week 4 game with the Lions.

As part of league COVID-19 protocols, NFL teams are testing players every day and after Friday’s testing cleared the Saints for their Saturday flight to Detroit, Saturday’s tests returned with a positive result.

Currently, Burton is being rapid-tested to confirm his positive result and trying to determine if it is accurate or a possible false-positive, like what happened with Matthew Stafford in training camp.

Not only is Burton being retested, but contact tracing has identified three additional players who sat on the plane around him who are also being rechecked, including star running back Alvin Kamara.

This is just the latest in a sudden surge in positive test results around the league. This week, the NFL has already postponed the Titans vs Vikings game and delayed the Patriots vs Chiefs game to Monday or Tuesday.

Now, the Lions vs Saints game is in real jeopardy.

With the game scheduled to take place at 1:00 pm EST, the big question is: can the NFL get accurate test results they can feel confident in, in order to play the game on time, or will the league take a cautious approach and delay this game, as they did with the Patriots-Chiefs?

This is a developing situation. Stay tuned to Lions Wire for updates.

Report: Patriots QB Cam Newton tests positive for COVID-19, won’t play vs. Chiefs

A COVID-19 positive test will keep New England Patriots QB Cam Newton out of the upcoming matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The New England Patriots will be without star QB Cam Newton on Sunday.

According to a new report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Newton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not play during Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Schefter added that this appears to be an isolated incident and that there is no spread so far. They’ll continue to test and re-test to ensure that is the case.

Newton will be added to the COVID-19 reserve/list ahead of the game. This is obviously a big blow for New England going into this game, but also a concerning situation for the league with a COVID-19 outbreak also impacting the Tennessee Titans.

Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham are listed as the backup quarterbacks for the Patriots. Expect one of those two players to fill in for New England this week as they head to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.

There is certainly the possibility that any forthcoming COVID-19 positive results could see this game postponed in the same way the Titans vs. Steelers game was delayed this week.

The Patriots have released the following statement:

We’ll keep you updated with the very latest on this situation as it unfolds.

Gators football sees no new COVID-19 cases this week

There were 462 total tests within the department in the last week, and only two returned positive cases, a rate of just 0.4 percent.

The newest COVID-19 testing data from the University of Florida Athletic Association is good news for the program.

There have been no new positive cases on the football team this week, as of Monday.

The team conducted 274 tests between Sept. 21 and Sept. 28, and none of them returned a positive result. The outlook is good for the athletic department in general, as well.

There were 462 total tests within the department in the last week, and only two returned positive cases, a rate of just 0.4 percent.

This comes just two weeks after 61 positive tests in a six-day span shut down operations for the baseball team and lacrosse team, who accounted for a combined 46 of those cases.

It appears that after suffering severe outbreaks earlier in the month, the Gators program is now doing a better job of containing the spread of the virus. It just remains to be seen how capable it will be of maintaining the same standards over the course of a season.

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Chiefs release statement after fan who attended opener tests positive for COVID-19

Positive tests are to be expected with fans at Arrowhead Stadium and the Chiefs have their first case after Week 1.

The Kansas City Chiefs have released a statement following the City of Kansas City, Mo., Health Department’s announcement that a fan who attended the Week 1 season opener against the Houston Texans has tested positive for COVID-19. That fan has since been asked to isolate. 10 people who had close contact with the individual have also been asked to isolate.

As of this morning, the Chiefs and Texans both had no positive tests among players and coaches, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Find the full statement from the team below:

“As the City of Kansas City Health Department has reported, a guest who attended Thursday night’s game at Arrowhead Stadium has presented positive for COVID-19. We have worked in close cooperation with Dr. Rex Archer and the Kansas City Health Department to provide all of the relevant information available.

The contact tracing mechanisms that the club has in place, including parking and ticket scanning data, as well as video record review, indicate that the individual who has presented positive and the individual’s party entered the stadium in compliance with mask mandates. This process allowed the team to identify the other guests sitting with this individual, the service staff with whom this individual may have come in contact with, as well as any other ticket holders near this person at the time of entry into the stadium. Within hours of being notified, the Chiefs were able to pinpoint the names of the other members of the party as well as detailed information about the path and location of entry, and this information was provided to the Health Department. The tracing capabilities at the stadium allow the extension of communication to learn more about the guest’s activity the days leading up to and after the game Thursday night.

The individual and the individual’s group were seated in the lower level of the stadium. By design, the stadium’s COVID protocol plan limited potential exposure to a single seating zone within the stadium. All staff with known interactions with the positive case were required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), including a mask. Additionally, the protocols in place at the stadium require all attendees to be wearing masks inside the stadium.

Compliance with the protocols remains a key component to making this plan effective. We appreciate the professionalism and diligence of the Health Department and will continue to support its efforts in this matter and throughout the season.”

From a statistical standpoint, positive tests were always going to happen with fans at Arrowhead Stadium. The trick is having the mechanisms in place to minimize the spread of the virus and the Chiefs appear to have that with their prompt action and coordination with the health department.

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Florida Gators athletics release updated COVID-19 testing information

On Wednesday, the University of Florida Athletic Association released updated data regarding testing results for COVID-19 as of September 7.

On Wednesday, the University of Florida Athletic Association released updated data regarding testing results for COVID-19. The results are up-to-date as of Monday, Sept. 7.

In total, 1,227 UF student-athletes have been tested since they returned to campus on May 26. Of those, 42 have returned positive tests during that time frame, just a 3.4 percent positive test rate. So far during the month of September, that rate hasn’t changed much. There have been 191 tests administered this month with seven positive results, a 3.7 percent positive rate.

Within the football program specifically, the positivity rate is slightly higher than the total athletic department rate. In total, 523 tests have been given since the end of May with 22 positive results (a rate of 4.2 percent).

However, the month of September gives signs for optimism, as the positive test rate for the football program has not only dropped far below its total over the last four months but also far below the general positivity rate within the athletic department.

There have been a total of 101 tests administered this month, and only one has turned back positive.

It’s unclear if this precipitous drop will be sustainable once the season potentially starts, as programs around the country have seen much more serious outbreaks within their rosters. But for now, it appears as if the steps taken by the UF football program, at least recently, are mostly working.

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