Phillies announce four more positive coronavirus tests
The toll of the Phillies’ coronavirus outbreak has risen to 12 infected club employees, including seven players.
After Friday’s revelation that three staff members and five players – mostly major leaguers, according to one source – tested positive for COVID-19 at the Phillies’ spring-training facility in Clearwater, the team announced Tuesday that three of 32 pending tests came back positive, as well.
In addition, the Phillies announced that one player tested positive “in a location other than Clearwater,” bringing the total to seven players and five staff that have been infected among 49 employees who were tested.
The Phillies shuttered Spectrum Field and the Carpenter
Complex on Friday for cleansing and disinfecting. Although none of the employees has required hospitalization, according to the Phillies, a second source confirmed that several are coping with symptoms of the virus.
Not included in the Phillies’ tally: an unknown number of family members (adults and children) who also tested positive and were sick.
While the Phillies’ outbreak was the first of its kind in Major League Baseball, reports followed of a symptomatic Toronto Blue Jays pitcher and four positive tests at the New York Yankees’ spring-training facility. The
Blue Jays and Yankees train in Dunedin and Tampa, respectively, both of which are adjacent to Clearwater in Pinellas County.
The NHL’S Tampa Bay
Lightning closed their training facility after positive tests; three players with the NFL’S Tampa
Bay Buccaneers also reportedly tested positive.
MLB responded Friday night by shutting down all 30 springtraining sites in Florida and Arizona, states that have seen a recent spike in coronavirus cases, and ordering that they undergo thorough cleansing and sanitizing. MLB also directed teams to plan on relocating to their home cities for a potential “spring training 2.0.”
Even before the outbreak in Clearwater, the Phillies intended to train locally – at Citizens
Bank Park, their youth academy at nearby FDR Park, and their triple-a Lehigh Valley ballpark – if MLB is able to finalize details for a 2020 season, a source said recently.
The Phillies’ outbreak served as a stark reminder that COVID-19 is still the primary obstacle to a return to play. Although most of the attention lately
In a late evening post to his social network profiles, Djokovic expressed regret more clearly and apparently hinted at assisting anyone infected at his events.
“I am so deeply sorry our tournaments caused harm,” he said. “We believed the tournament met all health protocols and the health of our region seemed in good condition.
“We were wrong and it was too soon, I can’t express how sorry I am for this and every case of infection,” he said.
“If you attended Adria Tour or were around any attendees, please get tested and practice social distancing. For those in Belgrade and Zadar, we will be sharing health resources in the immediate future,” Djokovic added.
Djokovic has recently also expressed mixed feelings should a vaccination become mandatory to play again in the future, and also spoke up against strict health measures planned at the U.S. Open in August and September.
Official tennis tournaments have been suspended since March. But exhibition matches behind closed doors and under strict social distancing rules have been played in Germany and other countries.