At least 30 LSU players have been quarantined as COVID-19 concerns continue to pile up across the country, according to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated. Other outlets also reported that those in isolation have either tested positive for the virus (though the exact number is unknown) or come into contact with someone who has. The Baton Rouge Advocate reported that the cases "began with a group of five to six players ... and it originated from a gathering of friends in Baton Rouge."
LSU has not yet commented publicly on the number of outbreaks on its team and longtime team associate athletic trainer Shelly Mullenix declined to provide numbers to Sports Illustrated. The good news, however, is that no one has required hospitalization and few have experienced anything beyond mild symptoms.
"It's not surprising we're seeing the rise right now," Mullenix told Sports Illustrated. "It's a pandemic. We should not be shocked. The story is that it's exactly what we said it would be. We were prepared from the get-go for a lot of virus. The good news is we're seeing subtle virus illness."
The quarantine efforts, which are designed to be overly cautious, come after some LSU football players visited a stretch of nightclubs called Tigerland near the school's campus. On Friday, the Louisiana Department of Health said that at least 100 people who visited Tigerland recently have tested positive for the virus.
LSU began voluntary workouts on June 9. Upticks in coronavirus cases among college football players as they return to campus have been commonplace throughout the country. Kansas State and Houston have already suspended workouts in response to high numbers of COVID-19 outbreaks among athletes.
