STORRS, Conn. (AP) — UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home.
The school made the announcement hours before it was expected to be named the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UConn says the Hall of Famer received a positive result from a test taken Sunday and isn't experiencing any symptoms.
The team's head physician says contact tracing protocols revealed that Auriemma didn't have close contact with any other team member since Friday.
"After we received notification of the positive test result yesterday, we initiated contact tracing protocols, which included interviewing individual members of the basketball program and in-depth video analysis of practice," said director of sports medicine and head team physician Deena Casiero in a press release. "Only household close contacts were identified. 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."
The school said Auriemma would remain in isolation for 10 days and could rejoin the team on March 24.
According to the press release, Auriemma received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on March 10.
"I'm feeling well but disappointed that I will be away from the team for the next several days," Auriemma said in the news release. "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."
The rest of the team, which has tested negative, plans to leave Tuesday for the tournament in San Antonio.
