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Mets-Nationals opening day game postponed due to COVID-19 issues

The season is beginning, and so are the COVID-19 issues.

MLB announced on Thursday that the opening day game between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals is being postponed due to COVID-19.

The Nationals announced on Wednesday that one of their players tested positive for COVID-19, and four players and a staff member were considered close contacts. General manager Mike Rizzo told the media that all players, coaches and staff have taken both PCR and rapid tests since the positive test was returned.

However, due to the incubation period of COVID-19, those negative tests aren't the last word. It takes a number of days for COVID-19 to show up on a test, so it's possible there could be another positive test (or more) coming. According to MLB's statement, they are continuing to do contact tracing, but they did not make any mention of new positive tests.

The Mets and Nationals aren't scheduled to play on Friday, with their next game scheduled for Saturday at 4:05pm ET. However, even with that free day, MLB announced that they won't be using it to make up Thursday's game. As of now, it appears that Saturday's game is still on, but it's possible that could change given the results of the contact tracing and any recent test results.

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