SEC announces medical guidelines for 2020 season
South Carolina officially has its testing protocols from the league office.
The SEC announced Friday it's medical protocols for the upcoming season as recommended by the league's Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force.
"Our Medical Task Force is producing an effective strategy for testing and monitoring, which complements the vigilant day-to-day efforts of our campuses to establish and maintain healthy environments in which our student-athletes can train and compete," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. "Our health experts have guided us though each stage of preparation for the safe return of activity and, together with the medical staffs embedded within our athletics programs, we will continue to monitor developments around the virus and evolve our plan to meet the health needs of our student-athletes."
The requirements will have requirements that include precautions for quarantining and isolation along with testing and masking guidelines during practices and games.
In terms of testing, there will be a centralized third-party company doing the testing to make sure there's "consistency in surveillance and pre-competition testing." Right now the main standard for testing is Polymerase chain reaction but the SEC did say it could use alternative methods if "sufficient data develops to support those methods."
The testing will be done at least twice a week during the season, usually six and three days prior to competition. The SEC's task force also recommends "exploring alternative testing methods" to potentially add a third test each week to try and provide "rapid response" close to actual competition.
All coaches, staff and players not currently competing will be required to wear masks on the sideline and social distance will be done as much as it possibly can.
Every school in the SEC is required to "designate a COVID-19 Protocol Oversight Officer" that will be in charge of educating and enforcing compliance at his/her respective school.
The Gamecocks are a little over a week away from starting preseason camp Aug. 17 before a 10-game, conference-only schedule starts Sept. 26.
