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Penn State had navigated the first three months of athletic workouts with few problems during the coronavirus pandemic.

With students now back on campus for a few weeks, preventing the spread of COVID-19 has become more difficult. Now the athletic department will have its first major test in keeping players healthy.

On Wednesday the school reported 48 positive COVID-19 tests from 920 players across all sports in the period of Aug. 31-Sept. 4. That positivity rate of 5% has led Penn State to “pause team activities for several programs and initiate standard isolation and precautionary protocol,” according to the school. “Contact tracing is being performed and there is no evidence to suggest COVID-19 was transmitted during practice or training activities.”

Prior to this latest testing update, Penn State’s positivity rate among athletes had been below 1% for the summer.

Penn State has not provided any breakdown of cases or testing by sport since athletes first began to return to campus in June. But the school did confirm that the football team plans to go through workouts and practices as usual as part of the 12 hours permitted per week with coaches.

It’s the latest twist in a saga that keeps churning on, particularly in the Big Ten, which remains in limbo while university presidents, athletic directors, coaches, players and their parents squabble publicly over the future of the season.

The Big Ten presidents and chancellors, who voted Aug. 11 to postpone all fall sports, have been mostly quiet as rumors continue to fly on attempts to get the football season started as soon as October.

On Wednesday, one president broke his silence as Nebraska’s Ted Carter gave an update in an interview with a local radio station. Nebraska was reportedly one of three schools to vote last month in favor of playing football as scheduled, along with Iowa and Ohio State.

“There is an awful lot of work still going on with the return to play committee for which chancellor Ronnie Green, athletic director Bill Moos and coach Scott Frost are on,” Carter told KLIN 1400 in Lincoln. “They’re putting together some plans that the presidents and chancellors will vote on very soon.

“The fight is still on. We have been aligned here in this state from the get go. … We feel it’s safe to play here. That’s our theme here and we’re still strong on that.”