Included in NC State Wolfpack athletics’ cluster of COVID-19 cases, with the university reporting that 27 cases were involved and associate AD Fred Demarest confirming 22 additional positive results since the last round of testing, is the football program.
WRAL.com’s Joe Giglio first reported the news, which The Wolfpacker can independently verify through two different sources.
Furthermore, Giglio noted that the ACC may have to face the possibility of moving NC State’s opener at Virginia Tech from Sept. 12 to the 26th, which is an open date for both programs. NC State hosts Wake Forest on Sept. 19 while Virginia Tech welcomes archrival Virginia that Saturday.
The main potential issue facing NC State could be the ACC’s medical advisory board guidelines for contact tracing, which requires a 14-day quarantine for anyone who is identified to have been associated with a positive case, even if they themselves have not tested positive for the disease.
Jonas Pope of the Raleigh News & Observer reported Monday evening that one of the positive cases surrounding the football program is an unidentified student-trainer, who received his result Sunday. Giglio noted that more than a dozen football players were held out of Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage due to COVID-19 protocols.
The number of players and staff that could be sent to a two-week quarantine through contract tracing of the positive cases, presumably starting on Monday when NC State paused athletics, could jeopardize the Wolfpack’s ability to prepare for an opener that is now just 18 days away.
Demarest also confirmed to media outlets Tuesday that NC State began testing twice a week for COVID-19 with its football team last week. The ACC mandates once a week, but that is subject to change.
The Wolfpacker will continue to follow this developing story.
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