Could App State’s COVID cluster impact UNC, Duke?

In the latest chapter of College Football Can’t Get Right, Appalachian State University notified students and staff that it’s detected a cluster of COVID-19 cases inside of its football program.

For now, that cluster remains at 11 total people: seven students and four staff members.

Ethan Joyce of the Winston-Salem Journal was the first to report the news.

This is of interest to a couple of ACC programs, too. While App State and Wake Forest decided to postpone their 2020 matchup — while also adding future games — the Mountaineers are supposed to start their 2020 season against Charlotte (Sept. 12).

The following week, however, Charlotte is scheduled to travel north for a matchup with North Carolina on Sept. 19. Duke is also scheduled to play Charlotte: Oct. 31 in Durham.

This points to just some of the major complexities that come with an attempt to play a college football season — which includes travel and non-conference opponents — amidst a global pandemic. The game is a month from now, but North Carolina, which experienced its own COVID cluster earlier this summer, is just one team — and one week — removed from a program that’s had nearly a dozen participants test positive for the coronavirus.

People inside the North Carolina program can only control what they’re allowed to control; these days, that doesn’t feel like much. However, add it to the list: this is another item that UNC football must keep an eye on.

 

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