Arizona Wildcats set to return to sports after false coronavirus positives

The Arizona Wildcats could be returning to athletic activities next week after 11 of the school’s 13 coronavirus retests came back as false positives.

There were also four false positives among 12 non-athletes that were tested at the campus health center.

The lab conducting the tests attributed the incorrect results to an instrumentation error and will perform a full audit of the testing process.

“Of course, I am not pleased that we initially reported false-positive tests, but I am proud of the protocols put in place in our testing program that enabled Dr. Paul to uncover this issue,” UArizona president Robert Robbins said in a press release.

“I also want to acknowledge the student-athletes impacted and apologize to them and their families for this disruption in their lives.”

Last week, Arizona suspended all women’s soccer activities for two weeks after seven players tested positive for COVID-19.

All athletic activities also were suspended until Tuesday after 13 student-athletes tested positive and six more had six inconclusive positives.

The university plans to retest student-athletes on Tuesday.

All sports programs — including women’s soccer — will resume activities on Wednesday if the test results are reconfirmed.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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