Florida Pauses Football Activities After an Increase in Positive COVID-19 Tests

The University of Florida temporarily paused activities for its football team after confirming earlier Tuesday it had five new positive COVID-19 tests within the program.

"Head coach Dan Mullen has been in communication with football players and their parents, and I have had conversations with the Southeastern Conference office, last week's opponent Texas A&M, and this week's opponent LSU," athletic director Scott Stricklin said. "These circumstances will be re-evaluated by UF Health and the athletic department's sports medicine staff Wednesday."

The Gators lost a road game to Texas A&M on Oct. 10. They're scheduled to play LSU at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, having moved the game back by 30 minutes.

Tuesday's news comes a few days after head coach Dan Mullen publicly stated he was hopeful of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium being at capacity against the Tigers. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has lifted attendance restrictions for stadiums across the state.

"I know our governor passed that rule, so certainly, hopefully, the university administration decides to let us pack The Swamp for LSU next week," Mullen told reporters. "One hundred percent because that crowd was a major factor in the game. So I certainly hope our university administration follows the governor."

Since Florida will re-evaluate the situation Wednesday, it's unclear whether the LSU game is in imminent jeopardy of being postponed. A number of games across FBS have been shuffled around due to positive COVID-19 results.