Yahoo Sports Minnesota football team has had 40 people test positive for COVID-19 in 10 days
The COVID-19 outbreak within the Minnesota football team is not getting any better.
The school announced Saturday that 40 people had tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 10 days. The team didn’t play Wisconsin as scheduled on Saturday because of the outbreak.
Minnesota said on Nov. 24 that it had suspended all team activities because 15 people within the program had tested positive for coronavirus from Nov. 19-23. That’s when the Wisconsin game was canceled.
Two days later, the school said that 10 more people had tested positive. On Saturday, the Gophers said that 15 people had tested positive since the last update on Nov. 25.
Of the 40 that have tested positive, 20 are players and 20 are staff members within the program.
The continuance of the outbreak means that Minnesota’s game against Northwestern on Dec. 5 could be in jeopardy. The Gophers have games against Northwestern and Nebraska scheduled for the rest of the season.
Earlier this week, star Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman opted out of the remainder of the season. He said in his statement that the coronavirus outbreak played a role in his decision to get ready for the 2021 NFL draft.
Minnesota’s cancellation of the Wisconsin game also rendered the Badgers ineligible for the Big Ten title. The Big Ten instituted a rule before the season that said teams could have a maximum of two games canceled to remain eligible for the title. The Minnesota cancellation was Wisconsin’s third after a COVID-19 outbreak at UW caused the Badgers to have to cancel two games earlier in the season.
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