Kendrick Bourne tests positive for Covid-19; Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams also out of Thursday night's game against Green Bay Packers due to being deemed 'close contacts'
Thursday 5 November 2020 12:25, UK
The San Francisco 49ers shut down their facility on Wednesday after receiver Kendrick Bourne tested positive for coronavirus, but the team are still scheduled to play Green Bay on Thursday night.
49ers wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, and offensive tackle Trent Williams, are also being placed on the reserve/Covid-19 list and will be out of Thursday night's game due to being deemed 'close contacts' to Bourne.
The team said the positive test came back Wednesday morning and Bourne immediately went into self-quarantine after getting the diagnosis. He was later placed on the Covid-19 list.
Samuel was already ruled out for Thursday with a hamstring injury, but the losses of Aiyuk and Williams elongate an already lengthy list of 49ers starters who will be missing due to injury or now coronavirus protocols, with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and star tight end George Kittle the latest to be lost for several weeks to injury.
"Our organisation has entered the NFL's intensive protocol and we are working with the league on contact tracing to identify high-risk individuals," the team said in a statement.
"All team functions will be conducted virtually today. The health and safety of our players, staff and community are the organisation's highest priority. We will continue to work closely with the NFL and medical professionals and will follow their direction."
A person familiar with the plans says the Thursday night game is still set to be played as scheduled, with the Packers leaving Green Bay on Wednesday afternoon. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not made any announcement.
However, the NFL Network has reported it is possible the game will be moved to Sunday or Monday.
This is the first positive coronavirus test for the 49ers since the start of the regular season. They had three players on the Covid-19 list in the pre-season, with receiver Richie James Jr, running back Jeff Wilson Jr and linebacker Fred Warner all spending time on the list.
The Packers are dealing with their own issues with coronavirus after running back AJ Dillon tested positive on Monday. Running back Jamaal Williams and linebacker Kamal Martin were placed on the Covid-19 list on Tuesday as "high-risk" contacts to Dillon.
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