Eleven people from the Colorado Rapids have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week, the club announced Monday night — two players and nine staff members.
MLS postponed Sunday’s Rapids home match against Sporting Kansas City after one player and three staff members tested positive for the virus late last week. Eight more positive tests were confirmed Monday — one player and seven staff members.
The club last practiced Thursday and played Wednesday when they defeated San Jose 5-0. All 11 who tested positive were at Wednesday’s match.
The Rapids stopped training as soon they received word of a positive test, placed everyone in self-isolation and conducted contact tracing in conjunction with the CDC.
Colorado is slated to play the Timbers in Portland on Saturday, with sources saying that the match is not yet in jeopardy of being canceled. Their next home match Oct. 7 is supposed to take place in front of fans. Meanwhile, there are only two possible dates in which Colorado can make up their match with Sporting Kansas City before Decision Day — Oct. 21 or Nov. 4. This will add further to the massive scheduling congestion Colorado has already faced.
The postponement of Sunday’s match was the first since MLS teams began playing games in home markets following the MLS is Back Tournament, which concluded in August.
In total, the Rapids have had four players test positive for the virus this year, with two players testing positive before the tournament in June.
The Rapids were coming off two straight wins and had climbed into a playoff spot. Each time the club has won two games in a row this year, COVID-19 has canceled the following match.
