Florida Gators report six new football COVID-19 positives in past week

A day after the No. 10 Florida Gators resumed practice, the athletic department provided its latest insight into the COVID-19 spike that caused a two-week football shutdown.

UF reported six new positive cases among football players in the past week, as of results that were available Monday. The numbers do not include coaches or staffers. At least three coaches have also tested positive this month, including head coach Dan Mullen.

Here are the weekly numbers UF has provided:

Oct. 6: One positive in October

Oct. 13: Five positives in the last week

Oct. 20: 25 positives in the last week

Oct. 27: Six positives in the last week

Since the start of October, UF reports 37 positives among football players out of 1,347 tests. The Gators believe their trip to Texas A&M for the Oct. 10 game sparked the spread that led to the postponement of two games and the suspension of team activities.

The Gators have had 44 athletes across all sports test positive this month. That includes six non-football players in the past week.

The dates of the Gators' most recent positives are not specified, which makes it hard to know exactly how many players are able to practice and how many will be available to play Saturday against Missouri. On Monday, Mullen declined to say how close to full-strength his roster will be but said he was confident UF will meet the SEC’s minimum threshold of 53 available scholarship players.

“I’m sure we’ll have 53 guys ready to play,” Mullen said.

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