Geno Auriemma, the University of Connecticut's head women's basketball coach, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the school's Athletics Department.
School officials said Auriemma is not experiencing any symptoms and is isolating at home.
Contact tracing showed that the basketball coach did not have close contact with any other team members since Friday, March 12, according to university officials.
Auriemma will not be able to travel to San Antonio on Tuesday with the basketball team. He can rejoin the team on March 24, the school said.
He received a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on March 10, which means he is nine days shy of becoming fully vaccinated, per CDC guidelines.
The school said all Tier I personnel have tested negative for the virus since daily testing started on March 9, per NCAA Tournament Protocol.
"I'm feeling well but disappointed that I will be away from the team for the next several days," Auriemma said. "Fortunately, I have a great coaching staff who will lead us during my absence. This revelation is a reminder that, while there is a light at the end of the tunnel, we are not on the other side of this pandemic yet. The full effect of vaccines does not occur until 14 days after our last vaccine dose, and for those of us getting two-dose vaccine, that means we're not in the clear after just one-dose. My team and I need to remain vigilant in the areas of mask-wearing and social distancing as we continue this fight against COVID."
Sports
Director of Sports Medicine and Head Team Physician Deena Casiero said the school has interviewed members of the basketball program and conducted in-depth video analysis of practice as a result of the positive test result.
"Given the fact that we have been doing daily testing for the past seven days, we feel confident that we were able to catch this very early on in the disease process. The remainder of Tier I tested negative yesterday and today," Casiero said in a statement.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
