UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma tests positive for COVID-19

STORRS, Conn. — UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has tested positive for the coronavirus and is isolating at home, the school announced Monday, hours before it was expected to be named the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Hall of Famer received a positive result from a COVID-19 test taken on Sunday and is not experiencing any symptoms, the school said.

The team’s head physician said contact tracing protocols revealed that Auriemma did not have close contact with any other team member since Friday. All other Tier 1 members of the team and staff tested negative for the virus on Sunday and Monday, the school said.

“Only household close contacts were identified,” Dr. Deena Casiero said. “Given the fact that we have been doing daily testing for the past seven days, we feel confident that we were able to catch this very early on in the disease process.”

The Huskies are scheduled to leave for the tournament in San Antonio on Tuesday. According to federal and state health guidelines, Auriemma must remain in isolation for 10 days and may rejoin the team on March 24, the school said.

Auriemma, who turns 67 on March 23, received a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on March 10.

“I’m feeling well but disappointed that I will be away from the team for the next several days,” he said. “Fortunately, I have a great coaching staff who will lead us during my absence.”

Auriemma said he was told that the full effect of vaccines does not occur until 14 days after the last inoculation.

The Huskies (24-1) were forced to postpone the start of their season until Dec. 12 because of another positive test within the program and like most teams had several games canceled or postponed because of coronavirus-related issues.