On Tuesday afternoon, Washtenaw County issued a stay-at-home order for all Michigan undergraduate students. However, the order will not affect Michigan athletics, per the health department press release.
According to an email from a University spokesman on Oct. 16, there have been 104 total positive cases from 11,889 tests administered to Michigan student-athletes, coaches and staff since teams began returning to campus in June.
Since Sept. 30, the football team has been tested daily with antigen tests provided by the Big Ten. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday that no players are currently positive for COVID-19. Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck told Minnesota reporters at the same time that he would not share the number of players on his team that were out with the virus.
Big Ten protocols dictate that games and practices will be cancelled if 7.5% of personnel test positive within a seven-day period. Over 10% of scheduled college football games played this season have been cancelled, though the Big Ten’s testing protcols are the most stringent in the country.
While all non-revenue fall NCAA sports have been postponed to the spring, Michigan’s football season is scheduled to begin on Saturday at Minnesota. The Wolverines’ first home game is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Oct. 31 against Michigan State. No Big Ten games are being played with fans in attendance, but parents will be permitted to attend. It is unclear whether that will change with the most recent order.
According to Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines do not currently have any positive COVID-19 cases. The University as a whole reported 301 positive cases last week, though that figure only includes testing conducted by University Health Services. 66% of positive cases in Washtenaw County over the last two weeks have been from 18-22 year olds, implying a high caseload from the University.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.