Iowa athletics reports 32 positive COVID-19 tests in one week

Iowa's athletics department reported 32 positive tests for COVID-19 for the week of Aug. 17-23, the highest weekly total it's experienced since return-to-campus protocol began May 29.

In a release Tuesday, the university said it conducted 646 total tests in athletics last week. That is the most tests we've seen in a week, too, which makes sense considering many students returned to campus for the start of fall-semester classes.

The 5% positivity rate (32 of 646) is a slight uptick from Hawkeye athletics numbers in recent weeks, as testing frequency has increased. It was 4.4% for Aug. 3-9 (15 of 338) and 1.2% for Aug. 10-16 (four of 335).

In total since May 29, Iowa athletics has reported 83 positive tests and 1,838 negative tests (4.3% positivity), with one test inconclusive. The university does not specify whether the positive tests are for athletes or staff members. The UI protocol requires "isolation for the individuals who test positive and quarantine for those individuals who might have been exposed to someone with the virus."