Four players and eight Washington Nationals employees have tested positive for COVID-19, forcing their Wednesday game against the Philadelphia Phillies to be postponed.
The postponement came a day after Nationals star Trea Turner left the game against Philadelphia in the first inning after testing positive for coronavirus.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Turner was among four players who tested positive. He did not identify the others.
“I’m just worried about the boys, really,” said the Puerto Rican pilot. “It has been a very tough tour and this does not improve things.”
Martinez added that all the people who tested positive, except for one, were vaccinated. Those who were infected had little or no symptoms, the manager said.
He felt that the fact that almost all of them were immunized prevented or moderated the symptoms.
The majors announced the postponement of the Nationals-Phillies game just over an hour before it was due to start at Citizens Bank Park. They added that the measure would allow “continued testing and contact tracing involving members of the Nationals organization.”
The match was rescheduled to be part of a doubleheader this Thursday. The first game would start at 12:05 noon (1605 GMT).
Martinez said he will prepare as if the matches were to be played effectively on Thursday. However, he said that everyone who tested negative on Wednesday will have to undergo another round of testing.
Washington could even summon several players from the Triple A branch in Rochester,
“We are going to have to add some, I’m sure,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll be talking all night” with general manager Mike Rizzo. (AFP)