LSU football isn’t cutting costs when it comes to fighting COVID-19
By Zach Ragan
LSU football is well prepared for the return of athletes to campus.
LSU football, along with the rest of the SEC, will be back in business on June 8, after a nearly three month shutdown due to COVID-19.
The SEC voted last week to allow voluntary participation in athletic activities beginning June 8.
LSU, however, has been prepping for weeks/months for the return of athletes to campus. And they’ve implemented numerous new policies to help limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Zoom meetings, for example, will continue to be utilized by Ed Orgeron and his staff — even when the coaches are all in the same building.
Also, The Athletic reported this week that the Tigers will only allow 20 players at a time in the weight room. LSU also plans to keep players in certain groups together, that way the school can effectively “contract trace” if a Tiger happens to contract the coronavirus.
Testing, obviously, will be extremely important during this process.
No cost cutting measures in Baton Rouge
There are a lot of testing options out there right now. Some are more effective than others. The less effective options are of course cheaper.
LSU isn’t going for cheaper, though. The Tigers are sparing no expense when it comes to securing the best tests available.
From The Athletic:
"LSU looked for tests that are 98 or 99 percent effective and accurate, because it’s not doing any good to have a test that’s 15 or 40 percent false negatives even if they’re cheaper. In turn, there’s a cost to all of this. “That’s going to be the cost of trying to keep people healthy,” she said."
The Tigers will be using test that costs about $100 each. Results will be back within a day. If there’s a positive test, LSU plans to isolate the other players that are in the same “group” as the positive player.
It’s no surprise that LSU is taking the lead in the SEC for the safe return of athletes.
Under Coach O, the Tigers are a detail oriented program that refuses to take shortcuts.
Next. 4-star WR makes perfect sense for LSU. dark
No one knows how the return of athletes will actually go, but it’s clear that LSU is doing their best to make sure it’s as safe as possible.