Athens, Georgia - The University of Georgia Bulldogs are currently dealing with a serious case of the Coronavirus as several of their players have been taken out of their football program’s lineup after testing positive for the virus.

In a team teleconference with reporters on Monday, head coach Kirby Smart (45) explained that "three or four" of his players have recently tested positive for COVID-19, sparking what he called, "our highest spike."

He also added "a couple staff members have been out with Covid here recently."

Coach Smart didn’t identify the infected players but did disclose that his team’s sports medicine director, Ron Courson, tested positive last week. It was a personnel decision to not allow Courson to travel with the Bulldogs to last Saturday’s win at Clemson University in South Carolina.

There was no word on where the affected players came into contact with the virus either.

This Saturday, the Bulldogs are back at home, where the 90,000-plus spectators who are expected to attend aren’t required to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test result.

The NCAA doesn’t exactly have nationwide mandates, but their health officials recommend testing unvaccinated individuals three times per week and only testing vaccinated persons if they are symptomatic. However, if at least 5% of a team tests positive, all symptomatic people and close contacts should be tested.

According to Smart, his team, which includes players, coaches, and additional staff members, were at a 90% vaccination rate.