Cardinals outbreak? Team reports 13 COVID cases after players visit casino

St. Louis Cardinals are the second team in Major League Baseball (MLB) currently struggling to contain a COVID-19 outbreak within the franchise. Last week, reports indicated the Cardinals had multiple cases of COVID-19. As a result, the franchise did not play their weekend series against Milwaukee Brewers. The number of positive cases have since grown to 13, which forced the league to cancel Cardinals' four-game series against Detroit Tigers.

Seven Cardinals players and six staff members tested positive for the virus. The league confirmed that the Cardinals have been in quarantine since last Thursday and will stay in Milwaukee. Furthermore, each member of the team's travelling party will continue to be tested daily.

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A Cardinals outbreak feared by MLB? 

According to reports, several players of the team visited a casino just days before a potential Cardinals outbreak was reported. Former MLB player Jerry Hairston Jr. tweeted on Saturday starting he heard from multiple sources that some members of the Cardinals visited a casino prior to the outbreak. MLB Network later confirmed the claims suggesting "at least a couple Cardinals did go to a Casino."

During an interview with MLB Network, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak acknowledged the reports of players ignoring the social distancing guidelines in order to visit a casino. Mozeliak said he had "no factual reason to believe" that the reports were true and that he had not seen any proof to suggest otherwise. However, Mozeliak did say it would be "disappointing" if the reports do come out to be true. The Cardinals will likely conduct an inside investigation into the matter to determine if the players visiting the casino had anything to do with the COVID outbreak within the organisation. 

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With 13 confirmed cases, the Cardinals join the Miami Marlins in teams currently dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak. The Marlins initially reported four COVID-19 cases within the team. That number grew to 18 within the following week. Due to the increasing number of cases, MLB postponed Marlins' two-game series against Baltimore Orioles and the three-game series against Washington Nationals.

Philadelphia Phillies, who faced the Marlins before the reports of an outbreak were released, had their series against New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jayes postponed. The Phillies did not have any player testing positive for the virus. However, reports suggest a couple of members of the team staff did contract coronavirus. 

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(Image Credits: AP)