MLB Reports Surprisingly Low Positive COVID-19 Test Percentage and Now the Hard Part Begins

The MLB is gearing up to restart the season after months on hiatus due to the coronavirus, and the league has remained remarkably healthy in the 3.5 months without baseball.

Of the 3,185 coronavirus test samples among MLB players and staff, there were only 38 positive tests, giving the league a 1.2 percent positivity rate that is far below the national average. In addition, only 31 players were found to have contracted the virus, while 11 teams reported zero positive tests.

Now the league has to make sure these 38 don't end up spreading the virus around the league, and that the number doesn't increase drastically as league-wide contact opens up and relative isolation ends.

As a part of MLB's rules and regulations for combating the virus, players will be tested every other day, with annual antibody testing also included. Any player who tests positive for the virus will be quarantined away from the team and will not be allowed to return until they test negative twice.

While the number of positive tests was 38 too many, the fact that the amount of positive tests was so low despite the recent uptick in cases nationally has to be an encouraging sign. Now the league needs to do everything in their power to make sure that number doesn't increase.