Notre Dame announces 5 players test positive for COVID-19

On Thursday, Notre Dame announced five of its players have tested positive for the coronavirus.

With Notre Dame’s season-opener against the Duke Blue Devils less than one month away, some concerning news has arrived out of South Bend.

On Thursday, the Fighting Irish announced that five players have tested positive for the coronavirus after the latest round of team testing. Those five student-athletes are currently in isolation, with their families being notified, the team said in a statement.

Notre Dame has now had nine players test positive for the coronavirus since June 18

Notre Dame first began administering tests to players back on June 18. Since that date, nine players have tested positive for COVID-19. It should be noted, though, that Notre Dame has given out a total of 851 tests, with a 98.9 percent negativity rate.

However, the latest update that five players have tested positive surely is concerning. The team recently got back on the field for the start of fall training camp earlier this month. All set to compete for an ACC championship this season, Notre Dame will indeed kick off its campaign against Duke on Sept. 12.

Looking at the schedule, they’ll also have a highly-anticipated showdown with Florida State on Oct. 10. The big game circled on the calendar for fans out there, though, is the one against Clemson, which is scheduled for Nov. 7. That contest will have monster implications for how the ACC title race shapes out, no question about that.

However, before anyone takes the field for the start of the 2020 season, head coach Brian Kelly and Notre Dame as a whole will want to make sure the players are in the safest environment possible before they put on the shoulder pads and helmets. Fans will hope for some more positive updates during the next round of testing.