Student-athlete COVID-19 testing has been temporarily suspended as the university changes its testing supplier from Virus Geeks to other vendors.
According to Behre in a Zoom call with The Rocket’s Editor-in-Chief Hannah Shumsky, athletic practices will continue despite the halt in testing.
Testing is expected to begin with the new vendor on Feb. 15, according to Interim Chief Communication and Public Affairs Officer Robb King. The name of this vendor has not been disclosed because the contract has yet to be agreed upon.
SRU President William Behre said he hopes to get multiple vendors so that in the case that something happens like this again, they have another company to fall back on.
King said, in an email that prior to this happening, the university had tested more than 25% of student-athletes, which is above the baseline requirement of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for sports with intermediate-risk, such as baseball and softball.
According to King, there was a change in the service contract with Virus Geeks that could not be agreed upon, resulting in a mutual dissolve of the agreement.
“Due to circumstances that were beyond the control of the university, the institution was forced to change vendors to administer the tests to our student-athletes, thereby resulting in a one-week testing pause,” King said in an email.
The Rocket contacted Jon Holtz, director of athletic communications, with a request for comment. He referred The Rocket back to King and did not add any statement.
