Five Wizards players test positive for the coronavirus

The Washington Wizards now have five players who have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Fred Katz and Shams Charania of The Athletic. That means two players have just tested positive in the last 24 hours or so since there were three players who tested positive yesterday. Their next games are on Sunday and Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but it is doubtful that those games will happen.

Again, no players have confirmed or denied that they tested positive for COVID-19, which is why the team hasn’t made any announcements.

The news is not surprising because the Wizards have played games against other teams where cases were reported on those other teams in the following day or two after their match. Also, the coronavirus pandemic as a whole has been getting worse in the United States.

Katz also wrote a column on what the Wizards face over the next couple weeks (subscription required). In the column, there is an interview with Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, the chief medical officer of the Los Angeles Galaxy MLS team and the team physician for the U.S. soccer men’s national team. Mendelbaum said that the whole team, including players who don’t get the coronavirus, may be more vulnerable to injury because of a lack of regular practice routines. Also, the period of contact tracing will be very extensive given that the Wizards interact with each other regularly.

It remains to be seen if more Wizards players test positive, and/or if staff members are also affected.

Get well soon, Washington Wizards.