As the owners and players search this week for a viable plan to open an abbreviated season, the results are good news as far as a low incidence of the disease within the once-friendly confines of big-league ball.
Major League Baseball perhaps passed a hurdle toward it’s possible return when a wide-sweeping antibody test of employees within the sport returned less than a 1% positive result for the coronavirus.
As the owners and players search this week for a viable plan to open an abbreviated season, the results are good news as far as a low incidence of the disease within the once-friendly confines of big-league ball. The bad news is since so few have had it the lack of social distancing in any return to the field the first week of July could be another factor in an outbreak.
“I was expecting a little bit of a higher number,” Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, one of the leaders of the study, said during a telephone news conference. “The set of people in the MLB employee population that we tested in some sense have been less affected by the COVID epidemic than their surrounding communities.”
Researchers obtained 6,237 surveys from employees of 26 of the 30 clubs resulting in 5,754 samples. Only 0.7% tested positive. The Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, and Miami Marlins did not participate, Bhattacharya said.
The study included players, front office employees and some family members.
The results substantiates the still stunning fact there was no spread of the virus during spring training in Arizona and Florida. Players, support staff, front office, media members and fans mingled for a month every day from Feb.
