During the first three weeks of the Pac-12 season, as games were canceled across the conference and uncertainty reigned amid spiking cases of the coronavirus, USC football had largely avoided any fallout.
That changed Monday night following the team’s return from its road trip to Utah, when one USC player tested positive for the coronavirus.
All other test results among team and staff Monday night were negative. The player, who was not identified, tested negative three times within 36 hours of Saturday’s 33-17 win over Utah, including once hours before the game.
The player in question has since shown symptoms of COVID-19 but was not present at USC’s facilities on Sunday or Monday, according to USC. With the Trojans set to face Colorado on Saturday, in a crucial game that will determine the Pac-12 South leader, the depth to which the team could be affected by the positive case remains unclear.
As of Tuesday morning, coach Clay Helton said the team was “going to seek guidance” from Los Angeles County public health officials to determine which players or staff would be affected by contact tracing protocols.
“When more information is available, including additional test results, contact tracing and public health guidance, we will provide it,” Helton said on Tuesday.
L.A. County guidelines dictate that those in close contact must isolate for 14 days, a length of time that would impact USC’s subsequent Pac-12 matchup Dec. 4 with Washington State.
According to county guidelines, as well as considerations set by the Pac-12 in September, a close contact is defined as someone within six feet of proximity for more than 15 minutes.
Those contact tracing rules have already led to a slew of cancellations through three weeks, including one this week between Washington and Washington State, which was called off Monday.
USC is one of just three Pac-12 programs that had gotten through the first three weeks of this season with its schedule unscathed. Until Monday, it hadn’t had a single positive case since September, when the program shut down along with men’s water polo, due to an outbreak caused by off-campus spread.
On Monday afternoon, USC athletics announced it had just one confirmed positive out of 1,157 tests conducted, from an athlete in a sport not participating in on-campus workouts. A few hours later, a positive test had put the football team’s next game in potential jeopardy.
Still, in spite of the positive test result, Helton said he was proud of his team’s discipline in adhering to safety protocols.
“We’ve been here since July 6, and I’ve got to credit both their discipline and their sacrifices they’ve made, as well as thank the university and our leadership, athletic and university leadership, for the resources they’ve given us,” Helton said. “We’re testing so many times, but it provides the most accurate and current information and keeps us as safe as possible.”