The novel coronavirus has made its way into the Minnesota Vikings organization as head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman tested positive over the weekend.
“This weekend my family and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Sugarman said in a statement release Monday. “We immediately quarantined and began to follow the established protocols. At this time we are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms.”
The Vikings say Sugarman, whose official title includes being the team’s vice president of sports medicine and the infections control officer, has not had any recent contact with players, and everyone from the team who has had contact with Sugarman has been notified. So far, there are no additional cases within the Vikings front office.
“We have followed the team’s protocol for sanitizing the facility and for notifying any personnel who may have been in close contact with Eric. Those individuals have been tested and are returning under the established guidelines. Eric has not had recent contact with players, and no additional cases within the Vikings front office have been identified at this time,” the Vikings said in a statement.
Sugarman’s positive test results were announced on the eve of training camp, as the Vikings report to team headquarters at TCO Performance Center in Eagan on Tuesday, July 28.
Training camp will feature limited contact drills as part of the NFL’s attempt to get through the summer workouts as infection-free as possible before the start of the regular season in September.
Last week, the league canceled all preseason games, so while head coach Mike Zimmer does plan some full-contact sessions, the Sept. 8 season opener against the Packers will be the first full game featuring full contact for every player since the end of last season.
Sugarman was featured in Peter King’s Football Morning in America column last week, with King visiting Sugarman in Eagan to cover Minnesota’s protocols for COVID-19.
“You are required to wear a face covering inside this building all day,” Sugarman told King.
