August 20th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

The Pirates announced Thursday that team president Travis Williams has tested positive for Covid-19. The club has conducted contact tracing to identify the potential for infections elsewhere in the organization, but Williams was not in contact with players, coaches or support staff leading up to his positive test, as the the team on the road. In a press release, Williams offered the following statement:

I have recently tested positive for COVID-19 after feeling the onset of symptoms on Monday evening. Fortunately, however, I followed the critical health and safety protocols that we have put in place, including wearing a mask as required, maintaining safe social distance and, upon the onset of symptoms, immediately isolating myself and getting tested which has prevented further impact to others. We have also conducted a thorough contact tracing procedure to identify anyone who I may have possibly been in contact with, which does not include any of our players, members of our coaching staff, or our baseball operations support staff as the team had been on the road. At this time, we have no known additional positive tests within our organization.

I am on the road to recovery. In the meantime, I wanted to use my diagnosis as another reminder that we are all susceptible. It is critical we all follow CDC guidelines and state mandates, and have a heightened sense of self awareness in order to protect each other. We all must do our part to get through this pandemic together.

The Pirates recently returned home from what was supposed to be a seven-game road trip, although five of their seven scheduled games were postponed due to the Cardinals’ team outbreak and the recent positive test on the Reds. They’re currently hosting the Indians for a three-game series and will then host the Brewers for another three-game set before heading back out on the road.