UH Football Team Under Quarantine After Five Students Test Positive For COVID-19

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is quarantining 81 student-athletes on the football team after five student-athletes tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, April 6, for a total of eight positive tests since Wednesday, March 31.

School administrators say the decision was made out of an abundance of caution after UH medical officials consulted with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health.

The student-athletes are quarantining at their places of residence and will be monitored by the athletic departmentʻs medical team and academic support staff. The 13 student-athletes who live on campus will be temporarily relocated off-campus today to quarantine and be cared for. None of the student-athletes who have tested positive have in-person classes this semester or live on campus. 

The team started spring practice on March 25 and was initially scheduled to run through April 23. The UH football team announced Monday, April 5 that spring practice and in-person activities were paused as a result of COVID-related protocols. In-person activities are expected to resume on April 14, after the quarantine period is completed. None of the student-athletes who tested positive have experienced severe illness and they are reportedly doing well.

UH athletics works closely with the UH Mānoa COVID-19 Response Team and has had strict COVID-19 protocols in place since the start of the pandemic, including mandatory daily health checks, weekly COVID testing, face coverings and safe physical distancing. Athletic facilities are cleaned and disinfected at least once a day, and high-touch areas are cleaned multiple times a day. For example, weight machines are cleaned after each individual use. A total of 33 UH student-athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 since March 2020, with the positivity rate remaining much lower than national averages at 0.27%.