Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER
Clarification: A UTRGV official clarified this morning that 10 student athletes and one student within close contact tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
It is still undetermined if the close contact case is related to the student athletes, said Doug Arney, vice president for Administrative Support Services and chair of the UTRGV Infectious Disease Committee.
The term close contact means any individual who has been within 6 feet of an individual with a confirmed COVID-19 case in the last 14 days, according to the UTRGV COVID-19 website.
Arney said he wants it to be clear that protocols are in place but “it’s up to the coaches and athletes to abide by those protocols.”
He attributes the “outbreak” to two possible factors: not following protocols and protocols that did not work.
“So, if that’s the reason, we address it with the coaches and the student athletes … to have those conversations and correct that bad behavior, if there is bad behavior,” Arney said. “I don’t know, in these situations, what has occurred yet.”
He said the university is still reviewing the situation and will make adjustments if needed.
Updated story 12 p.m. Oct. 16:
A university official has confirmed to The Rider that 11 UTRGV students have tested positive for COVID-19 within the last week.
As of the publication of this story, Doug Arney, vice president for Administrative Support Services and chair of the UTRGV Infectious Disease Committee, said he knows of the 11 student cases but is still investigating the cases.
“This week, we’ve had a little bit of an outbreak,” Arney said “We’re trying to figure out how many and we’re doing the contact tracing with those individuals.”
He said the students are being quarantined in 50 rooms provided by the university in separate wings in the Casa Bella Apartments on the Brownsville campus and the Village Apartments in Edinburg.
“They’re isolated,” Arney said. “They follow certain protocols; they stay quarantined so they don’t infect others. … But, some people choose to isolate at home with their parents.”
He added when the quarantine period is up, the students will be tested again and released if they test negative.
In an interview Tuesday, Jonah Goldberg, senior associate athletic director for communications, said student athletes are not required to wear a facial covering during practice.
Asked if student athletes will be required to wear a facial covering during practice after the reported cases, Arney replied it is hard to breathe when student athletes run up and down the court with a mask on, but they should wear one outside of practice.
“Just like all campus community members, when you get off that sport and you get into a crowd or walk down the hall, you have to have your face covering on just like everybody else,” he said.
On Sept. 16, the NCAA Division 1 Council announced the return of men’s and women’s basketball seasons, which are scheduled to begin Nov. 25.
NCAA athletics programs were allowed to begin practice on Wednesday.
Arney said basketball players are being tested once a week but when the season starts, it will be three times a week.
The Rider requested an interview with Chasse Conque, vice president and director of Athletics, but it was declined in an email Wednesday afternoon from Goldberg that stated in part:
“Regarding [your] inquiry, we are not granting interviews, but we do have a statement (below). For attribution purposes, you can attribute it to the department. The official name is UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.”
Goldberg attached the statement which reads, in part, “The UTRGV men’s basketball and volleyball teams have paused team activities due to positive tests of COVID-19. Contact tracing has been completed and the department is following isolation protocols.”
Arney told The Rider the 11 positive COVID-19 cases will be tallied in the university’s weekly report. The university posts on a weekly basis at 5 p.m. Fridays.
Asked why the university has not issued news releases when a member of the campus community tests positive for COVID-19, Arney replied, “We’ve chosen to teach people how to fish. So, if you want to know you can go here. We publicize it often. If you want to know, you can come here and get the information you’re looking for instead of us going out and sending it out every week. It’s always here. It’s updated every week and that’s what we’ve decided on.”
Asked why this method was decided, Arney replied that it’s all the information people need to know if they think it’s safe to come to campus or not.
He said the most important thing the campus community can find on the website is the daily self-screening questions.
The Rider asked Arney what UTRGV’s response is to rumors that student athletes are not abiding by university and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines in regard to wearing facial coverings and practicing social distancing.
“My philosophy is, ‘Hey, if you don’t follow the protocol, you may not have a season,’” Arney replied. “‘Why would you want to do that?’ Follow the protocol. Everybody else is.”
He said students, faculty and staff can anonymously report any rule breaking of CDC guidelines, such as social distancing and lack of facial coverings, to the university hotline at (877) 882-3999.
Asked if policies will change after the reporting of these cases, Arney replied, “Things can always change. We didn’t see the details of where these [cases] happened [or] how they happened. Were they outside? Are they roommates? Did it happen on the field? So, we’re looking at all those things …. to see what we can do better. We’re always looking to improve.”
To view the university’s facial covering protocol, click here.
