Major League Baseball postponed Sunday’s scheduled game between the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros “out of an abundance of caution” following a positive Covid-19 test in the Athletics’ organization.
MLB said additional testing and contact tracing will be conducted. The game was set to be played at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
The Athletics said they learned on Sunday that the member tested positive but declined to give any further information on the person’s identity or status.
“The team conducted testing and contact tracing for the entire traveling party this morning and will self-isolate in Houston with recommended safety precautions in place,” the team said.
The Athletics are just the latest MLB team to report a Covid-19 case since the shortened season began in July. So far this season, the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals had extensive outbreaks that led to the postponement of a number of games, while the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds have also reported cases.
MLB’s decision to postpone the Athletics-Astros after one positive test reflects its more aggressive approach toward stomping out potential Covid-19 outbreaks.
Earlier in the season, MLB allowed the Marlins to continue playing games even after reporting several Covid-19 cases. Those cases then spiraled into a team-wide outbreak in which more than a dozen Marlins players tested positive for Covid-19.
