The coronavirus-hit Rapids are slated to play the Timbers in Portland on Saturday, and the match is "not yet in jeopardy of being canceled," according to sources cited by Jake Shapiro of the DENVER POST. The Rapids last night announced that eleven people from the club have "tested positive for COVID-19" in the past week -- two players and nine staff members. MLS postponed Sunday's Rapids-Sporting K.C. match after "one player and three staff members tested positive for the virus late last week." Eight more positive tests "were confirmed" yesterday (DENVER POST, 9/29).
A BRIEF TIMELINE: THE ATHLETIC's Sam Stejskal reported the Rapids last trained on Thursday, the "morning after their 5-0 home win" against the Earthquakes. One source said that "all 11 infected individuals were in attendance for that match." Following Thursday’s receipt of the initial test results, the Rapids "immediately suspended training, placed all players and team staff in self-isolation and conducted contact tracing." Sources said that every member of the team has been "tested every day since, and all players and staffers remained in isolation" as of yesterday. Stejskal noted the Rapids are the first MLS team to "experience a rash of COVID-19 cases since the league resumed its regular season in home markets in late August." Several clubs have had "isolated positive tests in that period, but no team had been hit hard enough to prompt any match postponements" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/28).
