Twenty-seven student-athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 after many attended an off-campus social gathering more than a week ago, according to an email from Miami University President Greg Crawford.
The Butler County General Health District has issued a blanket quarantine order to all Miami student-athletes who have returned to Oxford and coaches who have come in contact with them. This was done out of “an abundance of caution” to ensure none of the athletes would be missed through the contract tracing process.
These 27 new cases come after last Friday’s announcement of 12 positive coronavirus test results. This brings the number of official Miami-related coronavirus cases in Oxford to 39 in just more than one week.
One student-athlete said she’s not surprised that the outbreak occurred.
“I think that it's just consistent because you hang out with your friends and oftentimes team athletes, like, are friends with each other. So if there was an outbreak, it would kind of make sense that it would be within ourselves,” she said.
Athletic Director David Sayler said in a university press release that he is upset “poor judgment has led to this quarantine order and put in jeopardy [their] efforts to have [their] teams study and practice together."
Although the student-athlete who spoke to The Miami Student was not a part of the infected group, she said she, along with other non-affected student-athletes, has to adhere to the quarantine order.
“It's not the most convenient thing in the world, but it's something that we're doing for the health of all of the athletes, and just the community in general,” she said.
Details about affected teams and the location of the off-campus social gathering are unknown at this time.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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