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The MLS game between the Colorado Rapids and the Portland Timbers has been postponed after the Rapids confirmed two more players and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
“Major League Soccer today announced that the match between the Colorado Rapids and Portland Timbers, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3 at Providence Park, has been postponed after two additional Colorado Rapids players and one additional staff member have confirmed cases of COVID-19,” a league statement said.
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“For the health and safety of all players and staff, Major League Soccer postponed the match until Nov. 4 at 10 p.m. ET.
“Following the first confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 on Sept. 24, the Colorado Rapids closed their training facility and have not trained since. All players and staff with confirmed cases of COVID-19 have entered self-isolation and the players and staff that have continued to receive negative results have remained in self-quarantine while following MLS health and safety protocols.”
ESPN sources confirmed a report by The Athletic earlier this week that four Colorado players and 10 staff members had tested positive for COVID-19 since last week.
The Rapids suspended training late last week when the first round of positive tests came through, and placed players and staff in self-isolation. MLS then took the step of postponing the Rapids match on Sunday. A source added that the Rapids had hoped to return to training by Friday.
The postponement on Saturday’s Colorado-Portland match is the second since MLS teams began playing games in home markets following the MLS is Back Tournament, which concluded on Aug. 11. At that tournament, which was held inside a bubble in Orlando, both FC Dallas and Nashville SC were forced to pull out due to a cluster of confirmed positive tests.
Since then, there had been less than a handful of confirmed positive tests. The Chicago Fire announced on Aug. 21 that one of its players had a confirmed positive test. More recently, FC Cincinnati said on Saturday that one of its players had a confirmed positive test.
Information from ESPN correspondent Jeff Carlisle was used in this report.