Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson and his teammate, Gus Edwards, have tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss a portion of training camp. In his absence, Trace McSorley and Tyler Huntley will share snaps during training camp practices.
The 2019 NFL MVP also tested positive during the 2020 NFL Season and was placed under health and safety protocols. However, he was cleared and able to play less than two weeks later against the Dallas Cowboys.
Jackson is the latest in a string of Black athletes to be sidelined by the coronavirus. NBA stars Bradley Beal, Jerami Grant and Zach LaVine were placed under health and safety protocols prior to the start of the 2021 Summer Olympic Games. LaVine and Grant were eventually cleared to play while Beal was forced to miss the opportunity to win a gold medal in Tokyo, Japan.
On a large scale, Jackson and Edwards are two new cases of COVID-19 in a worldwide surge. As previously mentioned, there has been a surge in COVID-19 cases involving athletes leading up to the Tokyo Olympics. Thus far, more than 120 athletes have tested positive for the virus prior to or during the 2021 Summer Olympic Games. Outside the walls of the Olympic Village, the city of Tokyo recorded 3,177 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, the United States is not faring much better. In 48 U.S. states, the number of new COVID-19 cases has jumped by at least 10% within the last week. Of those 48 states, 34 of them have seen the number of new COVID-19 cases jump by 50% or more.
"More mitigation is coming. Whether it's masking, or whether it's closures or whether it's your kids having to return to virtual learning, that is coming," Dr. Jerome Adams said.
"And it's coming because this pandemic is spiraling out of control yet again. And it's spiraling out of control because we don't have enough people vaccinated."
To help mitigate the spread of the virus, the CDC has encouraged all U.S. residents to wear masks at indoor venues.
"This pandemic continues to pose a serious threat to the health of all Americans,” CDC Director Rochelle Wolensky said.
“Today, we have new science related to the delta variant that requires us to update the guidance regarding what you can do when you are fully vaccinated.”
At the time this article is written, less than 50% of Americans have been vaccinated. Moreover, less than 15% of the world's population has been vaccinated.
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