Dr. Sheldon Jacobson, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois, has released some troubling data about college football and coronavirus.
Jacobson expects a 30%-50% infection rate out of approximately 13,000 players in FBS this season. He also projects 3-7 deaths among those players.
“I guarantee someone is going to die,” Jacobson said. “The virus does not discriminate.”
Here is an excerpt:
Dr. Sheldon Jacobson told CBS Sports he expects a 30%-50% infection rate of the approximately 13,000 players competing in FBS this season. Based on his research, he also projects 3-7 deaths among those players due to COVID-19.
“A few of them could end up in the hospital, and you’ll have a small number who could die,” Jacobson told CBS Sports. “I don’t want to sugar coat it for you. I just want to give you the facts. … If everybody comes together under normal circumstances, we’ll probably see that kind of outcome.”
Jacobson made his projections from CDC data that estimates one death per 1,000 people who have symptoms in the college age group (18-22). Taking into account that range and medical care provided for football players, the death rate would be lower than the general population, Jacobson said.
He stressed those numbers could change. Based on available statistics, less than 1% of the U.S. population has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. Approximately 5% of the 2.6 million cases in the U.S. have resulted in death.
Obviously, not everyone has been tested. However, with students assembling in large numbers on campuses in the fall, that ramps up the overall risk and likelihood of infection at universities.
“I guarantee someone is going to die,” Jacobson said. “The virus does not discriminate.”
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