There has been a COVID-19 pause within the Duke basketball program after at least two positive tests.
For the first time in the 2020-21 athletic year, COVID-19 has reached Durham as the Duke basketball program has paused following positive tests within the team.
Bridget Condon of ABC11 Eyewitness News Raleigh-Durham was the first to report the news on Wednesday afternoon.
#Duke women's basketball has paused all team-related activities indefinitely due to two positive COVID-19 tests and precautionary contact tracing measures among individuals within the travel party. @ABC11_WTVD
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) December 16, 2020
The team also announced its own statement on Wednesday:
Duke Women’s Basketball has temporarily paused team-related activities due to two positive COVID-19 tests within our program and precautionary contact tracing measures.
— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) December 16, 2020
Our two upcoming contests have been postponed (Dec. 20 at NC State; Dec. 22 vs. UNCW)
In its first ACC game of the season, the Lady Blue Devils fell to Louisville, 73-49, and the Cardinals went on a pause because of positive tests days after their trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Out of an abundance of caution, Duke postponed its game against Miami (FL) on Saturday, December 13 because of contract tracing and now has postponed games against North Carolina State (December 20) and North Carolina-Wilmington (December 22) due to positive tests.
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Following its postponed game against the Seahawks, the Blue Devils’ next scheduled game is December 31 against the same Louisville Cardinals in Durham.
The pause in the women’s basketball team is the first noted case of the coronavirus within the Duke Athletics program this year.
Duke’s football team saw games postponed and canceled because of the virus, but that was never because of positive tests within its own program, and the same can be said with the men’s basketball team.
Where Duke basketball goes from here
In uncharted waters for the Blue Devils, it’s unclear how long Duke’s pause will last.
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Since practices began for all college basketball teams across the country, guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called for a 14-day quarantine, which has been followed by the NCAA. But those guidelines have been lessened to either a 10- or seven-day quarantine.
Under first-year head coach Kara Lawson, Duke began the season with three straight wins before being tripped up by Louisville. The Lady Blue Devils need to play 13 games this season to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.