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Although we are gearing up for the start of a “normal” 162-game regular season, and multiple vaccines are rapidly becoming more and more available to the general public, the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing in the United States and Major League Baseball is not immune to it. The Washington Nationals will be without five of their players, now quarantining after one positive COVID-19 test that included four close contacts on a chartered flight. Locally, our Milwaukee Brewers had their own COVID-19 scare earlier today on the eve of Opening Day, with a false positivest throwing the team for a bit of a loop.
The Brewers had a false positive COVID-19 test result come back earlier today, David Stearns said. At the time they didn't know it was a false positive, so the club went through all of the relevant protocols and, "We are now confident it was a false positive," he said.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 31, 2021
Fortunately, the necessary protocols put in place were able to confirm that the test was a false positive, meaning that everyone should still be available for Opening Day tomorrow. Superstar outfielder Christian Yelich weighed in on the subject, saying “[i]t’s a reminder that we’re not really out of the woods yet,” and for everyone to continue keeping their guard up. Yelich also said he would be getting the COVID-19 vaccine and that a lot of his teammates will be, as well. The league and MLBPA have agreed to relaxed protocols if individual teams can reach a threshold of 85% of personnel vaccinated, but they cannot mandate that players and staff receive the inoculation. Starting on April 5th, all Wisconsin residents age 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.