Yahoo Finance MLB's latest COVID-19 testing data reveals just 5 player positives over the past week
Major League Baseball released its latest COVID-19 testing report on Friday, and after a rocky beginning that saw delayed testing and results, there are reasons to be encouraged. MLB carried out a lot of tests, and just a handful of players tested positive over the past week.
The latest numbers
In a press release, MLB revealed it had collected 10,548 samples from players and staff, and that six of those samples tested positive for COVID-19 (0.05 percent). Five were players, and one was a staff member. There was also a five-day stretch over the past week during which no new positives were recorded.
Since the start of intake testing on June 27, MLB has collected 21,701 total samples. 93 of those have tested positive for COVID-19, which is a 0.4 percent positivity rate. 80 are players, and 13 are staff members.
Overall, these numbers are promising. But there are several figures that MLB failed to provide which would add some much-needed context to these numbers. MLB only gave the number of samples collected, but did not reveal how many people were tested and how many times they were tested.
Six positives out of 10,548 total samples certainly looks good, but since players are being tested multiple times per week, what does that mean in terms of people? That info would certainly make these numbers a lot more revealing.
Players deserve credit
While it appears that MLB’s testing program is running more smoothly than it was a few weeks ago, the biggest takeaway is that players seem to be taking social distancing seriously. Despite several players testing positive since the start of spring training 2.0, there have been no massive team-wide outbreaks. For example, New York Yankees closer Aroldis Champman tested positive on July 11, after he’d reported to Yankee Stadium for workouts, but there hasn’t yet been a spike in positive tests on the Yankees.
The players deserve all the credit for that. MLB can set the rules, but they only work if the players follow them. Players seem to be taking social distancing and hygiene rules seriously, which is a good sign as real games approach.
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