In an interview with Jackie Nespral of NBC6/WTVJ in Miami, University of Miami President Julio Frenk said to expect Miami Hurricanes who test positive for the Covid-19 virus to be isolated.
The isolation most people are currently in relation to Covid-19 is evolving. The college football season is just over three months away. Three months ago no one could have imagined where we would be now. University of Miami President Julio Frenk told Jackie Nespral of NBC6 Miami Hurricanes who test positive will be isolated quickly.
Frenk is a global expert on pandemics. He was the Mexican Minister of Health from 2000-2006. Frenk has been vocal about how Hurricanes games and particularly football will be played this fall. Frenk has been consistent in his statements and told Jackie Nespral of NBC6 games will at the least not include fans to starts the season.
Frenk’s outlook on the Miami Hurricanes playing games and with fans attending is that everything will be conducted with the safety of the players in mind. Once the University of Miami has determined that the games can go forward safely the next step will be determining if the same can happen with fans attending.
Frenk also appeared on CNN last week to discuss the virus as a global pandemics expert. The University of Miami President stated the same mantra that the safety of the students is the primary concern of the University in regards to playing any games. There is a lot to figure out over the next month or so.
Miami football head coach Manny Diaz has stated that he would ideally like six weeks of training camp before the Hurricanes start the season. That would put training camp beginning July 25. That is about a week earlier than usual. Miami began around the same time last year because they began the season on August 24.
"“It is very important especially in contact sports that we have measures to keep the players safe. It is important that we do extensive testing so that if any player tested positive, we can quickly isolate those players…Miami Hurricanes who test positive for Covid-19 likely to be isolated…Whether we have fans in the stadium or not will depend on what the circumstances are…Even without fans, I think it would be a very good first step to be able to play. If everything goes well, we may have the full experience.Whatever steps we can take in a responsible manner – keeping the safety of our players and fans themselves – is our first priority. I think we will follow that guidance and hopefully have some football this fall.”"
Frenk summarized the plan for Nespral above as transcribed by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. There are a lot of open questions that could be followed up to Frenk’s plan. Where is the Miami Hurricanes athletic department and University going to get testing? How and when will the testing be conducted?
If and when players are isolated how long will the isolation last? Will they have to miss games (which is likely). The circumstances are forever evolving. Covid-19 is not likely to be eradicated until a vaccine is developed. Various estimates are that a vaccine could take 12-18 months to put into circulation.
Sunday on @nbc6 Impact @univmiami President @julio_frenk joins me to discuss what fall semester will look like, UHealth and Covid 19, & @CanesFootball! pic.twitter.com/PimvSM422V
— Jackie Nespral (@JackieNBC6) May 22, 2020
If everything goes well fans may have the full experience seems to be the best-case scenario. That can also be open to interpretation. The full experience could still be a limited number of fans. Earlier this month Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said that he expects Hard Rock Stadium to have about 15,000 fans per game.
The statement by Gimenez was nearly three weeks ago. Some states, counties and cities nationwide are opening up, while others are not. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been one of the more aggressive nationally in declaring essential businesses and allowing society to re-open and return to a sense of normalcy.
It’s going to take cooperation for multiple government agencies, the NCAA, Atlantic Coast Conference, the University of Miami and the Miami Hurricanes athletic department to determine how games are held commencing in September. With over 14 weeks to go until Temple, the situation will continue to evolve.