Entire sorority house at Oklahoma State University is quarantined after the chapter reported 23 cases of coronavirus among sisters

A group of sorority sisters at Oklahoma State University are under quarantine orders after their chapter reported 23 cases of the coronavirus. 

According to a statement from the university, the outbreak occurred at the off-campus sorority house Pi Beta Phi. 

'Due to the nature of this situation, the entire chapter house is in isolation or quarantine and will be prohibited from leaving the facility,' the school said in the statement released Saturday. 

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A group of sorority sisters at Oklahoma State University (file image) are under quarantine orders after their chapter reported 23 cases of the coronavirus

'One member of the sorority who lives elsewhere is among those who tested positive and will also remain in isolation.'

Both officials from the university and Payne County Health Department are monitoring the chapter and performing contact tracing.   

Just 84 miles away, nine football players at the University of Oklahoma tested positive for the virus, head coach Lincoln Riley said on Saturday.

Oklahoma's Big 12 Conference said this week it would move forward with the fall football season, a cultural ritual for millions of Americans, after two of its fellow Power Five conferences said they would postpone play.

Riley said in a video posted to social media that he received the test results Saturday morning after his players took a week-long break from team activities, noting the new cases were the result of 'community-based infections'.

'Disappointed by the news, obviously. We've done such a tremendous job really this entire time,' Riley said in the video. 'You know when you give your players some time, that there is risk in that.'

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The state of Oklahoma has reported more than 47,000 confirmed cases of the virus and at least 657 deaths. There are more than 5.3 million cases of the virus in the US with at least 169,489 deaths

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The school said earlier this week there was previously one COVID-19 case reported on the team since players reported for training earlier this summer.

Two of the five most powerful collegiate conferences, the Pac-12 and Big Ten, said this week they would not play the season as scheduled, citing the risks of the coronavirus outbreak. Both said they would consider options for spring competition.

Oklahoma, a five-time Big 12 Conference champion team that has produced two of the last three Heisman Trophy winners, is set to kick off its season September 12, and Riley said he remained 'very confident' in the procedures the team had in place, which include daily screenings for team members and staff.

'The reality is this isn't the NBA. This is college football,' said Riley.

'We can try to minimize these risks as much as we possibly want but we're never going to have being able to eliminate them 100%. We don't have a bubble.'

The state of Oklahoma has reported more than 47,000 confirmed cases of the virus and at least 657 deaths. 

There are more than 5.3 million cases of the virus in the US with at least 169,489 deaths.