Cost of testing, yes ... but another concern colleges have is their entire campus. An outbreak could impact their faculty (who are not young), administration, staff, janitors, food service individuals ... the list is long. Furthermore, it could affect and even kill young adults like college age students who may not be fully aware of any pre-existing conditions that may cause their illness to be worse. Or just impact them significantly. I have a former colleague from my TV days who son is a junior at Univ. of Tennessee. He contracted the virus and spent weeks in the hospital - some of the time on a ventilator. That stay impacted him greatly that he now is home under rehab care still learning to fully walk again (having spent time in a hospital this year myself, not for covid, that caused me to be in a bed FAR more than expected, I understand how it impacts something as simple as even walking).
You are also very right, Jester, that students can take this virus back to other people and impact them far more than themselves. Something I know some people just do not appreciate. It is something I am VERY concerned about with my kids attending a small, private, catholic elementary school. It is a long story and one that makes me nervous day to day...
So there are a lot of concerns colleges have to face since they have small communities of varying sizes they are responsible for. They also impact their local communities. I know of a handful of campuses that were, or likely were, told to send their students home because the local health departments had concerns with an outbreak or a potential outbreak on the local resources and hospital beds. A campus breakout not only will have the local hospitals slammed, but if it also impacts the community the resources for those ares are now maxed more than capacity or ability can handle.
Take LA County which is restricting any colleges from having students on campus and may allow a pilot program that would allow only 500 students per campus. Those restrictions keep any of the DIII campuses from having students on campus and thus having any athletic teams practicing let alone competing - so that has nothing to do with testing.
Yes, tests are a significant concern when it comes to costs. Some colleges can handle it; some can't. Some colleges need to make the sacrifice if they hope to stay open in the future; some cannot. But there is a very long list of other reasons, some contributing and some separate, that go into these decisions about students on campus and the like.
As for it doesn't seem to be as big a risk for pros and college age students, what is an acceptable risk? One of the top players in DI who plays for Florida just collapsed during a game recently. It appears the cause is tied to the virus. He apparently has
acute myocarditis - the same condition that killed Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis among others. There needs to be more tests in his case, but if COVID drives up the risk of myocarditis or any other long-term affect we aren't even aware of ... is that worth the risk?
Sure, it seems mild, but Ravens MVP QB Lamar Jackson describes being basically in his bed for 10 days straight sleeping. Same description a good friend of mine described the other day after he went through the exact same thing. He is two weeks removed and he's still exhausted - to the point of waking for breakfast then falling asleep again. That is pretty much worse than the flu... and again, the long-term problems aren't known right now. To quote someone I was talking to the other day: "let’s hope history judges us well with regards to what may be long term effects of having the virus."
For the record ... I agree with much of what you said, Jester ... you just inspired me to put some thoughts down.
