Multiple Blue Jays Players, Staff Reportedly Test Positive for COVID-19

Multiple members of the Toronto Blue Jays organization, including some players, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. 

Per Davidi, the positive tests are "related to the shutdown in Dunedin last Friday." 

Dunedin, Florida, is where the Blue Jays hold their spring training, though as Davidi wrote, "Dunedin is the most straight-forward option for training camp, but Florida isn't where you want to be."

That follows a report from USA Today's Bob Nightengale on Sunday that "40 players and staff members" around Major League Baseball have tested positive for the coronavirus. And Colorado Rockies players Charlie Blackmon, Phillip Diehl and Ryan Castellani have tested positive, per Steve Gardner of USA Today.

While the players signed off on the 60-game season imposed by Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday, there are serious questions whether the coronavirus will ultimately put those plans on hold. 

Many teams traditionally hold their training camps in various sites around Florida. But cases of COVID-19 have been spiking in the state, with a record-high 5,511 new cases reported on Wednesday, leading the MLB to decide that teams would be holding training camps at their home stadiums.

The total number of reported coronavirus cases in the United States is now over 2.3 million, per CNN.com, with 121,746 deaths. 

And the rules for the return to play will be prohibitive, per Nightengale:

• All lockers must be six feet apart.
• Players cannot enter the stadium if they have a temperature above 100.4. 
• There will be "temperature and symptoms" checks twice a day, saliva tests every other day and antibody tests once a month.
• No "lounging" in the clubhouse—players cannot show up more than five hours before a game and must leave within 90 minutes after. 
• No players buffet; only pre-packaged food.
• No showering at the stadium.
• Players must keep a six-foot distance from everyone when they walk onto the field.
• Not all players can be in the dugout to maintain distancing—some will have to sit in the stands.
• No spitting; no tobacco; no licking fingers; no batboys or batgirls. 
• No group celebrations over home runs.

Sounds fun, right? That's just a sampling of the restrictions in place.

MLB is taking the threat of the coronavirus very seriously. But as cases spike around certain parts of the country, it's calling into question whether that threat may ultimately shut down the season for good.