NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Full contact college football is now underway in New Mexico with the University of New Mexico Lobos practicing in pads for the first time since March. What about college basketball? It’s something lots of sports fans, athletes, and coaches have been wondering about and with fall season officially here.
On Wednesday, Secretary for the Human Services Department Dr. David Scrase talked about what sports fans, athletes and coaches should expect.
“I think anything we do with sports has to be attended with a lot of caution and a lot of precaution, to make sure that young athletes aren’t getting sick,” said Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase.
Dr. Scrase says basketball presents obvious challenges since it’s played indoors. He pointed to the NBC bubble strategy that keeps athletes and coaches isolated, along with the need to frequently test teams in order to catch COVID-19 cases early on. While Dr. Scrase says the Department of Health, the governor’s office, and the University of New Mexico have been working on plans, he didn’t have any concrete details on when teams might resume play.
Meanwhile, UNM football was just given the all-clear to resume full contact, tackling, and scrimmaging. The team is preparing to open its season on Oct. 24 at Colorado State. Players will continue to be tested for COVID-19.
“We don’t have enough supplies worldwide for every person in the world to get tested every day or every other day to figure that out, but I predict that in the future, there will be a more readily available testing system like that,” said Dr. Scrase.
Dr. Scrase also mentioned a large percentage of people who recover from COVID-19 end up with lesions on their heart or lungs. Health experts will be studying long-term effects for the next year.
The Lobo football team is also scheduled for a scrimmage on Saturday.
