The epidemiologists are certainly not impressed.
(If anyone wants a 30-day Athletic pass, DM me.)
“I think that by any definition, this is an outbreak on their team,” said Dr. John Swartzburg, a clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, Division of Infectious Disease. “And an outbreak on a team means that the team needs to close down.”
“Earlier, in (summer camp), if you didn’t have test results, you didn’t practice,” said Dr. Zachary Binney, an epidemiologist at Emory University’s Oxford College. “So to have four positive results and then play a game just seems totally unaligned with that.”
_Both Swartzberg and Binney said that if they were advising Major League Baseball, they would recommend hitting the pause button on the Marlins’ season, most likely for the next two weeks. _
Added Binney on Monday, after the additional positive tests were announced, “I’ve been saying for weeks that 3-4 cases in a few days should be enough to shut down a team. This is exactly why. Three to four cases is unlikely to stay 3-4 cases. Playing the game [Sunday] was stupid and reckless…. The Phillies sent their clubhouse attendants into a hot zone.”