Arizona should be closing in on adding more sports into the mix for voluntary on-campus workouts at this point in the summer, but the athletic department decided a few weeks ago that the surge of positive coronavirus cases in Pima County was concerning enough that it decided to halt any other student-athletes from coming to campus to begin offseason work.

That was on June 29 and three weeks later Arizona remains a hotspot for COVID-19. However, on campus things have continued to move in a good direction with Arizona reporting Friday that of the 366 test-encounters, "which may encompass a variety of individual tests such as PCR, antigen and antibody testing," only three have been positive.

UA says two of the three athletes who tested positive were asymptomatic and were removed from the voluntary workout activities to begin self-isolation. The program added that no others that have come into contact with the infected athletes have tested positive. UA has 23 staff members on campus to aid with voluntary workouts, in addition to the 83 football players, and none of those staffers have tested positive.

“When we made the decision to pause bringing additional student-athletes back to campus, we did so out of an abundance of caution,” UA athletic director Dave Heeke said in a statement released by the school. “Our athletics department’s re-entry, testing and medical processes have been effective and efficient. Arizona Athletics will continue to work closely with President Robbins, University leadership and campus partners in our commitment to protect the health of our community. Assessments and consultations with our local health authorities, the University of Arizona, the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA are ongoing as we look to resume the safe and healthy return of student-athletes and staff to campus.”

Athletes at Arizona are given an initial antibody test when they arrive to campus before beginning voluntary workouts plus a COVID-19 test that is administered orally and through the nose in addition to weekly antigen tests, the school said in a press release Friday.

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