Testing, Testing

From Bruin: When the coronavirus put an effective pause on the sporting world back in March, coach Chip Kelly said in April he didn’t see why it would be safe for players to return to the field if fans weren’t also allowed in the stadium. 

But with UCLA football set to hold its first training camp Friday and the Bruins’ season-opener against Colorado set on Nov. 7, the third-year coach said a lot has changed since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. 

“I think we all have concerns,” Kelly told the media in a Pac-12 web conference Wednesday afternoon. “The one game changer since then has been the daily testing, but (COVID-19) is still something we need to be very cautious of.” 

Daily testing wasn’t available to his team in August when the Pac-12 initially canceled its college football season, but Kelly’s players – many of whom have already returned to campus and are participating in small group workouts – now receive polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, coronavirus tests three times a week. Beginning this week, Kelly said the Bruins will also have access to daily rapid tests that look for the presence of viral antigens that would indicate infection. Players will submit to both PCR and antigen testing at the beginning of the season. 

In total, UCLA football players could be tested up to 10 times a week once training camp begins...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2020/10/07/chip-kelly-outlines-footballs-covid-19-testing-protocol-ahead-of-training-camp