[UPDATE 3/14]: The test came back negative. The player thankfully does not have COVID-19.
[3/13]: Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen told Nick Piecoro that the team had a minor league player tested for COVID-19. The coronavirus test came after the player tested negative for the flu. The results of the COVID-19 test have not come back yet.
If the test comes back positive, the player would be the first to be confirmed to contract the virus.
The news came as MLB officially confirmed that spring training activities have officially been suspended until further notice.
More from MLB: pic.twitter.com/Exj0R1qGJN
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 13, 2020
The situation is still evolving, but there are a number of ramifications if the player does in fact have COVID-19. The virus can easily spread through close contact, coughing or sneezing, and on surfaces touched by an infected person if a non-infected person touches the surface and then touches their mouth or eyes. Players are often close to one another at training facilities and it is possible that the player may have spread the virus to other athletes. That’s to say nothing of the non-baseball people that the player may have come into contact with.
We’ll be monitoring this situation as it develops.
If you want to learn more about COVID-19, give the CDC’s site about the virus a read. Informing yourself is the most important first step.
