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| - The Minnesota Vikings said Monday the team's head athletic trainer and infection control officer had tested positive for COVID-19. The Vikings said in a statement that Eric Sugarman tested positive for the coronavirus along with members of his family over the weekend. "Eric and his family are currently in self-quarantine and providing daily updates on their wellbeing," the Vikings said. The team said that the Vikings had begun sanitising the team's facility and notifying any personnel who had been in close contact with Sugarman. "Eric has not had recent contact with players, and no additional cases within the Vikings front office have been identified at this time," the team added. "The health and safety of every member of our organization, our fans and of the broader community is paramount." Sugarman meanwhile said he hoped his case would serve as a warning. "It is clear this virus does not discriminate," he said in a statement. "It should continue to be taken seriously. I encourage people to take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines that have been established nationally and locally." Meanwhile the NFL's chief medical officer Allen Sills said Monday that the league was confident protocols put in place would allow the league to react swiftly if an outbreak occurred. Sills was talking as Major League Baseball was forced to postpone multiple games after an outbreak involving the Miami Marlins. "We've said all along that we expected there would be positive cases among players and personnel," Sills told ESPN on Monday. "And there may be a number on each team. As long as this virus is endemic in society, we're going to continue to see new cases. "What we think is important is that we have protocols in place that can identify those cases as quickly as possible, and make sure that once we identify them, we take the right action, which is to isolate the individual away from the team, get them the appropriate treatment and then do the contact tracing." rcw/gph
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