COVID-19 testing method for Royals players differs from most public procedures
Royals manager Mike Matheny realized something troubling while talking with the media Sunday morning.
Matheny was due to be tested for COVID-19 and he was worried about ... having enough saliva.
“I’ve got a little cottonmouth right now and a little bit worried because I’m walking out of this room and we’re having our second round of testing today,” Matheny said. “So, it’s more spit than what you think when you’re not allowed having anything to drink for 30 minutes prior so anyway it’s very noninvasive. It’s a pretty simple test that seems to be highly accurate.”
Many people who’ve been tested have had cotton swabs put up their nose and/or in their mouth. But the Royals and the rest of Major League Baseball are using a saliva test, which was approved by the FDA in May.
Red Sox pitcher Colin McHugh shared a video of his test on Twitter and well, it requires spitting:
The Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Angels have faced delays in getting receiving test results and the Washington Nationals had to cancel Monday’s camp session because test results hadn’t returned. General manager Mike Rizzo was not happy.
While the Royals haven’t faced such issues, outfielder Whit Merrifield was a little nervous that results of his first test took longer than he expected.
“I would like it if the turnaround was a little quicker, but it’s not, and it beats a swab up the nose. For as quickly as they had to throw this together and as new as it is, it’s been pretty smooth to this point,” Merrifield said. “So that’s a good thing ...
”It’s nerve racking because guys like we saw with Salvy (Perez) that are asymptomatic, he was ready to come and be in here with us, and all of a sudden he gets a call and says he’s tested positive. So that part’s nerve wracking, knowing that you can feel great and get some pretty bad news.”
The Royals said the first round of test results were supposed to be known in 24 to 48 hours, but Merrifield’s took 56 hours.
A Royals official said 3,200 samples from around Major League Baseball were flown to Salt Lake City during the first round of testing. That would explain the lag time.
Testing is done every other day but Royals players and coaches take daily precautions as well
“We have an app that we go to that goes through a list of (wellness) questions,” Matheny said. “And then we take our temperature twice before we leave home. And then once we get to the ballpark we have a face-to-face screening — from a safe distance, of course — we have a screening, and then we get our temperature taken two more times, and then we’re given access to the stadium.”
This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 9:04 AM.
