4 Rising FC players test positive for COVID-19
Phoenix Rising FC General Manager Bobby Dulle confirmed to reporters Wednesday morning that several players within the club had tested positive for COVID-19.
These are the first known cases of the novel coronavirus to infect members of the team. Along with the Suns and Coyotes, the news makes Rising the third pro sports team in the Valley to have recorded cases within its players or staff.
Dulle did not disclose the names of the players and the amount of positive tests were confirmed later by a team spokesperson. Dulle remarked that all affected individuals were found to be asymptomatic and are “feeling well” in quarantine.
“I’m really encouraged by our protocols, that they seem to be working,” Dulle said. “We have quarantined those that tested positive and implemented procedures for those that were in close contact. We’ll continue to educate ourselves (and) use these moments as opportunities to learn. We
anticipate these players returning to full-team training in the near future and we greatly appreciate all the efforts of the United Soccer League.”
Dulle said regular testing began at Rising last week as the club continued to train in USL’s Phase II of practice protocols, which forbade teams to not train in groups of more than 10. The Championship’s return-to-play guidelines approved last weekend now mandate weekly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests of all players and staff who work with players.
Rising was scheduled to begin full-contact training today for the first time since March after the USL Championship announced it would be lifting its training moratorium Monday. But the positive tests sidetracked those plans for the club until at least Thursday, pending the results of more tests administered to the squad as a safety precaution Wednesday morning.
“While we would’ve loved to start full-sided training today, the health and safety of our players as well as the community that we live in remains our highest priority,” Dulle said. “Before we go to full-team training, the safest thing and best thing to do for our players, for our coaches and of course our community is that we conduct another set of full testing today.”
As the Championship inches toward its provisional July 11 restart, the USL made official Wednesday the health and safety protocols agreed upon by the league and players association.
In addition to consistent testing, players will be expected to adhere to strict social distancing when not playing as well as wear masks in any situation outside their homes. Rigorous screening procedures, including daily surveys on if players are ill and frequent temperature checks, will also be commonplace.
Dulle is pleased with the protocols set in place, but also admitted that the steps are not foolproof as completely eliminating risk is impossible. As the sports world adapts and USL attempts to get back some sense of normalcy, being “flexible” is of utmost importance to him.
“If we’ve learned anything over these past couple months, it’s that there’s a lot to be learned,” Dulle said. “Every day is a new day; There’s new challenges and we take those opportunities to ... make adjustments to our plan, our protocol..”