Two more Nationals players have tested positive for COVID-19 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Two more players of the Washington Nationals have tested positive for COVID-19, general manager Mike Rizzo said on Thursday.
"Unfortunately, we've had two additional confirmed COVID [positive] test today," Rizzo said. "Both are players. Both were already in quarantine due to contact tracing."
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Additionally, Rizzo said there's one other player who is a "likely positive," meaning the player returned an inconclusive test and remains in quarantine. Rizzo says they are retesting the sample of that particular player to determine whether he is COVID-19 positive or not.
In total, the Nationals now have three players who have confirmed positive tests for COVID-19. Rizzo said that one of the players that tested positive had a fever but the rest remain asymptomatic.
Washington's general manager also reiterated multiple times that contact tracing remains ongoing for the Nationals.
"The contact tracing has begun for the additional players beyond the one we had yesterday," Rizzo said. "They were all identified and we're working diligently to get all of those players in quarantine."
Rizzo also mentioned that it is unclear how the initial player who tested positive contracted the virus,
The Nationals were scheduled to begin their 2021 campaign on Thursday against the New York Mets, but the Opening Day matchup was canceled due to Washington's positive tests.
It remains unclear when the Nationals will be able to return to baseball activities. The Mets were able to work out at Nationals Park on Thursday, however.
"For me, like I said before, it's a shame we can't play today, but we need to stay positive," Nationals manager Davey Martinez said. "I know I've talked to a lot of players and my concern is about their health and safety. They are going to stay positive."
While it's a bummer for Martinez and the Nationals that they weren't able to play on Thursday -- a game that was expected to be played in front of 5,000 fans, marking the first time they would have returned to Nationals Park since Washington won the World Series -- the manager is focused on staying positive and looking forward to returning to the diamond.
"I spoke to a lot of [the players] last night I'll continue to reach out to them," Martinez said. "But we're going to get through this. This isn't the first time we've gone through some bumpy roads. We've been there and we're going to come back from this and play baseball."
