Two players on Mexico’s Olympics baseball team tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, prior to their scheduled departure to Tokyo, according to a statement from the Mexican Baseball League.
The players in question were Héctor Velázquez and Sammy Solís, both of whom are pitchers for the Acereros de Monclova.
Both were asymptomatic. They were placed in hotel room to quarantine “immediately” upon receipt of the positive PCR tests. Other players and team coaching staff were likewise isolated, until PCR tests could be provided and assessed.
A training session scheduled for Monday evening at the Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium was canceled, following the Covid outbreak; tests were conducted on all other individuals affiliated with Mexico’s baseball team earlier today.
The team will depart for Tokyo on Wednesday, as previously scheduled. Protocols established by the Mexican Olympic Committee will continue to be followed, “to safeguard the health” of all team members.
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This year is the first in which Mexico’s baseball team has qualified to participate in the Olympics. The Group A team is scheduled to face off against the Dominican Republican and Japan on July 30.
The Tokyo Olympics kick off with their opening ceremony on Friday, after being delayed a year by the pandemic. At least two dozen of the Olympics’ athletes, coaches, and officials have tested positive to date, including women’s gymnastics team alternate Kara Eaker, women’s basketball team member Katie Lou Samuelson, and Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal of the U.S. men’s national basketball team. Several cases have been identified thus far within the Olympic Village.