As expected, COVID-19 protocols have led to numerous cancelations and postponements of college football games around the country. This past Saturday, Georgia State-Charlotte was one of those games called off. Unfortunately, it has now been revealed that the game was postponed in error, due to a mistake in reading the test results.

Georgia State athletic director Charlie Cobb released a statement to the media explaining what happened:

“Friday afternoon, as we were loading the buses to play a football game at Charlotte, we were informed that four individuals out of 135 had tested positive for coronavirus from our third test in four days as part of our protocol to play. Through contract tracing, we identified 17 others, including one coach, who would require quarantining.

“These were our first positive test results in three weeks among our athletics programs, which since April have experienced a positivity rate of 1.7 percent. Out of an abundance of caution for the rest of our team and Charlotte, we could not in good conscience put our team on the bus and play a game.

“As part of our protocols, we tested the individuals again Friday afternoon and were informed by our lab Friday night that none tested positive. They also retested the swabs from Thursday and all tested negative as well. It was at this point that the lab director informed our medical staff that a human error Friday morning caused the error in test results.

“The disappointing news is that we could have played on Saturday. More importantly, the positive news is we are not dealing with an outbreak at this time. We appreciate the professionalism shown by (Charlotte director of athletics) Mike Hill and coach (Will) Healy throughout the past 48 hours.”

Hopefully, human error in the lab won’t lead to other games being called off when they could be played.