All UF athletes with COVID will undergo cardiac exam before returning
Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin released a video message Friday to provide an update on the No. 10 Gators and their recent COVID-19 outbreak.
In its weekly testing update Tuesday, UF reported 25 cases from the past week. Dan Mullen revealed another test came back positive Wednesday, bringing the team’s case count to 32 for October.
Prior to resuming team activities, which were paused Oct. 13, all players who contracted COVID will undergo a full cardiac workup.
“Before our student-athletes who are infected return to activity, they will complete a cardiac evaluation that includes a troponin level test, an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram. The student-athletes will also have a complete medical evaluation by UFHealth physicians,” Stricklin said Friday.
COVID-19 has been linked to myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, a rare condition found in some college athletes who recovered from the virus.
The troponin level is a blood draw that shows if there’s been any damage to the heart. A technician will perform an EKG and record a player’s heart rhythm, while an echocardiogram (ultrasound) monitors the heart’s movements, how the blood flows and if all the valves and chambers are working properly. All of these tests will be reviewed by a cardiologist.
Stricklin reiterated that the root of the outbreak was Florida traveling to Texas A&M, where two players who made the trip — and tested positive upon returning — spread the virus throughout the team.
Over the past week, Stricklin and Mullen both said they were reviewing travel protocols to prevent another outbreak in future road games.
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“Following our last road trip, we have evaluated all phases of team travel to better understand how we can enhance the safety and health protocols,” Stricklin said. “Now, it’s believed that a couple of individuals who just a day before the trip had tested negative for COVID through the SEC testing protocol developed mild symptoms that they attributed to allergies or the common cold, and then boarded the team plane on that Friday. Those same individuals subsequently tested positive for COVID on Sunday of that week. Of course our staff immediately began testing daily and as more positive cases developed, all team activities were paused, effective Oct. 13.
“Now all staff and players on the Texas A&M trip were instructed to quarantine and participate in daily testing through Oct. 26, and that continues. The Gator Sports Health staff continues with telehealth appointments with our players and staff, and our nutrition staff has been delivering food as well as to our student athletes. Likewise, our academic advising unit continues to assist our student-athletes virtually. … We remain hopeful that through our experts at UFHealth and our sports health staff, along with the guidance from the SEC Medical task force, Gators student-athletes are in the safest environment possible as they pursue their academic and athletic goals.”
