After his team postponed two games during its COVID-19 pause, Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner expected the Yellow Jackets to be able to play their upcoming home game against Louisville, although the date of the game may be moved off its original Jan. 1 date.
Pastner’s expectation for his team to be cleared to play against the Cardinals was based on the ACC’s guidance that shortens the window that athletes and coaches are to stay in quarantine. Where previously the ACC followed CDC guidance calling for a 10-day quarantine after a positive test or the onset of symptoms and at least one more day after recovery, the ACC updated its guidance Monday for vaccinated athletes and coaches.
Under the old protocol, Tech would not have been able to play Saturday against Louisville, given that the team went on pause Dec. 22 following its game against Georgia State on Dec. 21. The Jackets had already postponed their Dec. 23 home game against Alabama A&M and their game Wednesday at Syracuse.
The new policy allows for vaccinated individuals who test positive but are asymptomatic to come out of quarantine once they have two negative tests at least 24 hours apart. Also, individuals can be cleared seven days after the first positive test so long as their symptoms are improving and they have one negative test within 24 hours of being cleared.
The CDC’s new guidance released Monday – which calls for individuals who test positive to return from isolation after five days if asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask around others – could further speed up return-to-play protocol if adopted by the ACC.
“The plan is that we’re going to play Louisville Saturday, Sunday or Monday at some point if we are cleared to do so by our head medical doctor Dr. Galante,” Pastner said, referring to Angelo Galante, the athletic department’s chief medical officer.
Pastner’s team had yet to be cleared to practice together as of Tuesday afternoon. Players who have been cleared have been able to work out individually. On Tuesday morning, guard Deebo Coleman, who was held out of the Georgia State game Dec. 21 because he was in the health and safety protocol, tweeted that he was returning to working out at the Zelnak Basketball Center.
If players and coaches tested negative and their health improved, it’s possible that they could be cleared by the end of the week, opening the possibility to play by the weekend. Pastner made clear that the decision to be cleared would be by made by Galante, and that any re-scheduling would be done by the ACC and Tech’s administration, and not by him.
Pastner himself was infected with COVID around the time that the team went on pause. Pastner said he quarantined himself in his room at home and stayed away from his family, particularly his newborn son Cason.
“It hit me pretty good,” said Pastner, adding that he now felt well.
The Cardinals themselves went on pause Dec. 20 and have not played since. As of Tuesday, they were scheduled to return to competition Wednesday with a home game against Wake Forest. Cardinals coach Chris Mack told Louisville media Tuesday that he expected to have almost his entire roster available to play against the Demon Deacons.
COVID-19 positive cases have run rampant through the ACC and college basketball. Within the conference, besides Tech and Louisville, no fewer than five other teams – Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Syracuse and Virginia Tech – have had to postpone or cancel games because of COVID-19 cases.
Guard Bubba Parham, who has yet to play this season because of knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, could play against the Cardinals if he is cleared. Pastner said that Parham had been cleared to play from his injury in the Dec. 18 game vs. USC before he was sidelined by the health and safety protocol.
“You’ve just got to be free-flowing and literally taking it one day at a time,” Pastner said. “Throughout the season, it could be where game preparation is not going to be equal for everybody. It’s just going to be different because you’re just going to have to get the games in.”
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