Report: Louisiana Tech Football Had 38 COVID-19 Cases After Hurricane Laura
Sep 8, 2020
Texas running back Keaontay Ingram (26) is hit by Louisiana Tech safety L'Jarius Sneed (1) on a run during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Thirty-eight Louisiana Tech football players have tested positive for COVID-19 in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, per Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.
Before Hurricane Laura, only one Louisiana Tech player had tested positive over a three-week period despite officials administering 350 tests to players, per Thamel.
The storm eliminated power in 90 percent of the area for seven to 10 days, and that led to players seeking safe havens elsewhere, per Thamel.
Louisiana Tech is located in Ruston, Louisiana, which was hit particularly hard by the storm. Of note, 95 percent of the city's electrical grid was taken out, per Isabel Albritton of myarklamiss.com.
The need to be safe amid potentially life-threatening circumstances made it difficult to socially distance, as Thamel noted.
In response, Louisiana Tech's scheduled game against Baylor on Saturday has been postponed.
The Louisiana Tech vs. Baylor contest isn't the only game that has been postponed because of COVID-19. In the Big 12 alone, three games have been pushed.
The TCU vs. SMU matchup was scheduled for Friday, but per an announcement from Horned Frogs athletic director Jeremiah Donati, some athletes and support staff recently tested positive for COVID-19.
A Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State game previously scheduled for Sept. 12 is now pushed to Sept. 19.
Multiple Golden Hurricanes players had tested positive for COVID-19, and the team's practice schedule has been truncated in response, per the Associated Press, necessitating more recovery time and on-field work before playing a game.
Other matchups that have been postponed include NC State at Virginia Tech, Marshall at East Carolina, ULM at Troy, Temple at Navy, Rice at Marshall and UAB at Rice, per Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press.
