Major League Baseball has announced 38 people league-wide have tested positive for COVID-19.
Of the 38 cases, 31 are players and the remaining seven are team staffers. A total of 3,185 samples were collected and tested, which translates to a 1.2 per cent positive test rate.
Nineteen different teams have had one or more individuals test positive.
For comparison, of the 351 NBA players tested in the past 10 days, 25 came back positive — a rate of 7.1 per cent since the first day of testing on June 23.
Players began reporting to their teams and home ballparks Wednesday, marking a significant step in MLB’s plan for its truncated 60-game season.
Since then, players have undergone both COVID-19 tests and health checks for lingering ailments in preparation for planned workouts beginning Friday and Saturday.
Given the state of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the United States, a significant number of positive tests were expected. On Thursday, the U.S. announced more than 55,000 new cases, setting a single-day case record for the sixth time in nine days, according to a database maintained by the New York Times.
“I can tell you that we expect a lot of positive tests,” Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said last week. “Any time you do comprehensive testing – there are some reports in the NBA today – and just like we see in the news every day, as testing goes up, the numbers go up.”
Currently, MLB’s plan is to stage a 60-game regular season, with Opening Day tentatively slated for July 23 or 24.
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