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Two White Sox Players Test Positive For COVID-19

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two Chicago White Sox players have tested positive for COVID-19, the team confirmed Sunday. Both players are asymptomatic.

According to a release, both players who have tested positive have been isolated in Chicago and are being monitored by White Sox staff. Contact tracing is being conducted for both.

Players, staff and front office members were tested as part of Major League Baseball's return to play health protocols.

The two players will receive followup testing in the coming days and will return to activities when they have recorded consecutive negative tests and "passed appropriate COVID-19 protocols."

"We cannot comment on the health status of individual players or employees regarding COVID-19, and the players involved requested privacy at this time related to their health situations," media relations officials for the team said.

"Testing's done. It obviously works. And they were identified and the appropriate measures are being taken to continue to monitor and make sure that they are first of all, feeling healthy and clear of any infection, and then they will continue to be tested until they're negative, and then they'll come back with us," added Manager Rick Renteria.

The White Sox have not had any players opt out of the season, according to Renteria.

"I haven't had and neither has anyone approached me about any of that in regards to the coronavirus, so no. Everyone has to make their own assessment, and make the decisions that they make seriously, and everybody has to respect it," he said.

The team said typical morning and afternoon workouts would continue, and it is too soon to speculate about possible game impacts, if any.

The Sox and the Chicago Cubs got their first workouts in Friday.

Major League Baseball announced the result of the first round of COVID-19 testing Friday, which returned 38 positive tests out of 3,000. Of those 31 were players.

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