The University of Michigan said Saturday that it had suspended all sports activities for up to two weeks and told athletes, coaches and team staff members to quarantine immediately after “several” cases of the British-affiliated variant of the coronavirus were found among people linked to the athletic department. The department said the suspension had been mandated by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in an effort to prevent further spread of the variant, known as B.1.1.7, which is estimated to be about 50 percent more transmissible than other variants. “Canceling competitions is never something we want to do,” Warde Manuel, the University of Michigan athletic director, said in a statement, “but with so many unknowns about this variant of Covid-19, we must do everything we can to minimize the spread among student-athletes, coaches, staff, and to the student-athletes at other schools.”Michigan, a member of the Big Ten Conference, has one of the most prominent athletic programs in the country. Its men’s basketball team is currently ranked seventh nationally, and the women’s team is ranked 11th. A two-week suspension would require both teams to reschedule or cancel at least four games.

Source: New York Times January 24, 2021 06:23 UTC