After a significant uptick in Covid-19 cases on campus in mid-October, Lafayette put a pause on all athletic activities to help contain and control the outbreak.  

The halt on athletic activities has since been lifted and student-athletes are back on the playing fields once again.

“As the College returned to normal activity, athletics activity resumed as well,” Athletic Director Sherryta Freeman wrote in an email to The Lafayette. “We are following the guidance from Dr. Goldstein, our sports medicine staff, and NCAA guidelines.” 

Despite the facility closures, teams continued to hold Zoom meetings during the pause and only supervised workouts were permitted in order to sustain a safe environment, according to Freeman.

The closure of certain campus activities was announced on October 17 and lifted just a week later as the number of new positive cases declined, according to the Covid-19 dashboard. 

The facility closures included a temporary halt on student usage of the library and recreation center, eat-in dining and athletic activity. 

“As the college saw a slight increase in cases, there was a decision to suspend activity across various areas of the college, and that included athletics,” Freeman wrote. 

As the student-athletes on campus return to practice, they will continue to practice the safety protocols in place to avoid spread of the virus.

“To minimize risks, we have been conservative in how we have gradually increased activity and the numbers of student-athletes who are participating together,” Freeman said. “Athletics continues to follow the guidance from medical professionals to ensure that athletics activity is conducted in the safest way possible.” 

With the Patriot League recently announcing a shortened, league-only season for the men’s and women’s basketball programs, the need for preventative measures to combat the virus becomes even more important.

“Our cooperation with health and safety measures for the community will continue to be necessary – even if competitions are able to resume in the spring,” Freeman said. “We will continue to follow the advice of our medical professionals as to what precautions are necessary as we move forward.”