COVID-19 revisits St. Louis Cardinals, series opener with Cubs is postponed
Nine days after their most recent game and seven after the public revelation of a COVID-19 outbreak which paused their season, the St. Louis Cardinals were set to get back on the field against the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.
Those plans have apparently been derailed.
Major League Baseball announced Friday that at least one additional Cardinals player has tested positive for the coronavirus. The team is currently conducting contact tracing to determine the cause of the spread and newest outbreak.
In the meantime, Friday’s series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium has been postponed, according to simultaneous announcement by both the Cardinals and Major League Baseball.
The Cardinals have been testing with increased frequency — at least once daily — since their initial outbreak. Thirteen individuals with the traveling party received positive results while in Milwaukee and drove individually back to St. Louis.
The remaining 44 people with the team flew together on a charter from Milwaukee before working out at Busch Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday. In order to leave Wisconsin, the remaining members of the team were required to record two consecutive days’ worth of negative tests; they met that requirement in testing conducted on Monday and Tuesday.
“I don’t know what we could do differently other than not put somebody that’s infected on our plane,” Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said Monday.
Major League Baseball published enhanced health and safety measures on Thursday, including a required increased use of masks and tighter restrictions for teams on the road.
Of the 13 Cardinals personnel previously known to have recorded positive coronavirus tests since the start of the season, seven are players and six are members of the team’s staff. Six of the seven players— Yadier Molina, Paul DeJong, Edmundo Sosa, Rangel Ravelo, Junior Fernández and Kodi Whitley have publicly revealed their diagnosis. Communications director Brian Bartow also confirmed he tested positive.
Individuals testing positive are permitted to maintain their medical privacy as regards test results under MLB rules.
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 12:27 PM with the headline "COVID-19 revisits St. Louis Cardinals, series opener with Cubs is postponed."
