Tim Foley –
On Monday Nov. 2 President Lapidus’ office emailed the campus community notifying the campus that a member of the men’s basketball team had tested positive for COVID-19 over Halloween weekend. The player had been in close contact with his fellow teammates. The entire team had been requested to quarantine, with some players quarantining at home, and others being isolated in select areas on campus. 
The campus community was then emailed early on Thursday morning that a member of the men’s basketball team who had been instructed to quarantine for a 14 day period, broke quarantine and attended at least one off-campus party. In Thursday’s email President Lapidus offered a list of steps that the school is taking immediately:
– Fitchburg’s Board of Health’s rigorous contact tracing protocol is in effect, and Fitchburg State is assisting them in carrying it out.
– If you are contacted by a university or public health official about this matter, you are expected to cooperate and respond truthfully.
– If you are determined to be a close contact, you will be given direction regarding quarantine and testing.
– You will not receive a call or be subject to quarantine unless you are identified as a possible close contact.
– All athletic activities, including practices and strength and conditioning sessions, are canceled until further notice.
President Lapidus then closed his Thursday email with the following statement:
“This is a serious situation and we are treating it as such. Students found to have violated our policies on COVID-19 will face sanctions through our Student Conduct and Mediation process, up to and including expulsion from the university. We will not tolerate behavior that puts the health of the campus community at risk.”
The Athletics department was contacted for comment, but no information regarding the situation was revealed due to medical privacy concerns. 
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.