The Boston Red Sox on Tuesday announced that a minor league player in their system has tested positive for COVID-19.
Here are the details from Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com:
"Red Sox minor leaguer tested positive on 3/23 after he returned home from Fort Myers. He was last at the complex on 3/15. Club says it's 'more likely' he contracted COVID-19 after he left Fort Myers but Fenway South is being shut down from all activity for two weeks."
The Red Sox's Grapefruit League spring training facilities are in Fort Myers, Florida, and as Cotillo notes they're being shuttered. Cotillo adds that the facilities are being deep cleaned and that any players and staff members who came into contact with the player in question will self-quarantine for two weeks.
On March 15, MLB in an internal memo advised non-roster players to return home because of the global pandemic, but per their understanding with the Players' Association players on the 40-man roster were allowed to continue using spring complexes.
This unnamed minor leaguer becomes the third known MLB-affiliated player to test positive for the novel coronavirus. Previously, two minor leaguers in the Yankees system tested positive.
Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that can cause illnesses as minor as the common cold, or as serious as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), according to the World Health Organization. The COVID-19 virus can cause symptoms including fever, cough, and shortness of breath, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While some patients show mild symptoms and recover, others develop life-threatening complications, such as pneumonia.
