
Football This Fall? U of I Professor Weighs In
Dr. Sheldon Jacobson, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois, has been evaluating CDC data, and explains how COVID-19 could spread if college football season resumes this fall.
Dr. Sheldon Jacobson, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois, has been evaluating CDC data, and explains how COVID-19 could spread if college football season resumes this fall.
As governors relaxed stay-at-home orders and people ventured out in recent days, the number of new reported cases of COVID-19 has surged again, reaching a single-day record on Sunday, according to the World Health Organization. Between Jan. 20 and July 1 of this year there have been 2,573,393 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 126,573 deaths in the U.S., according to WHO data.
Should a college football season take place, one Big Ten professor expects tragedy. Dr. Sheldon Jacobson, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois, told CBS Sports that if the roughly 13,000 FBS players return to their respective campuses as scheduled, he projects that 30 to 50 percent of players will contract COVID-19 this season – and three to seven players will die.
On June 30, 21,416 COVID-19 tests were performed in the state of Connecticut. Only 152 came back positive. This represented a remarkable turnaround for a state that regularly saw more than 1,000 new cases a day in April. We asked Prof. Edward Kaplan, an operations and modeling expert who has extensively studied the spread of the disease in the state, what Connecticut has gotten right—and what risks still remain.
The coronavirus pandemic appears to be receding, public officials have proudly announced entry into a phased reopening. Observing the death and physical suffering the illness has brought to so many, little needs to be said to prove the seriousness of the threat that COVID-19 poses. Nor is there doubt that by nearly all accounts the draconian lockdown measures deserve the lion’s share of credit for slowing its initial wildfire spread. Yet, in many areas, where close to two months without significant spread have renewed many people’s comfort in resuming regular activities, many are prepared to move beyond curbside pickup and gatherings at a six-foot distance.
Ashley Smith
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