Major League Baseball and the players' union have officially begun their summer camp training program, and it also concludes the first round of join testing being announced by both parties. After day one there were 38 people who tested positive for the coronavirus, 31 of them being players and seven staff members.
This from the MLB Communications official Twitter account:
The first set of results for COVID-19 testing have been jointly announced by @MLB and the @MLB_PLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/zlqZPuxLxh
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) July 3, 2020
As stated in the above information, the 38 positive cases represent 1.2% of the 3,185 people tested. Of all who tested as having COVID-19, 19 different clubs had at least one person testing positive within their system. The Pirates have announced they will not release whether a player or staff member has tested positive, stating privacy reasons.
These tests represent a week's worth of testing, and the testing was completed at an independent lab in Utah as part of the MLB and MLBPA COVID-19 Health Monitoring and Testing Plan. This is just the first wave of tests, and the league and players' union plan on releasing these joint results to the public as camp progresses.
Any player or staff member who tests positive for the virus will then go through the appropriate measures, including quarantine, before they will be permitted to join the team for on-field workouts. While the 38 positive tests seem like a lot, the 1.2% certainly can be viewed as a positive regarding the overall challenge of keeping players and staff members healthy while getting back on the field during a global pandemic.
Stay tuned for more camp updates on the Pirates and MLB right here at DKPittsburghSports.com.
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