Essendon player Conor McKenna has tested positive for coronavirus, marking the first case to hit the league since the outbreak began earlier this year.
In a press conference on Saturday afternoon, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan announced that the AFL will postpone tomorrow’s game.
“Following a hookup this afternoon with our own medical team and our infectious diseases advisor, the AFL has taken a decision to postpone tomorrow’s Essendon v Melbourne match.”
The news comes just days after McKenna returned to Australia from his home country of Ireland in preparation for Sunday’s match at the MCG.
According to The Age, Conor McKenna tested positive to the virus despite being asymptomatic. He was tested two times upon his return to Australia after a 14 day quarantine.
During today’s press conference, the AFL CEO asserted that despite returning from overseas earlier this month, it appears that McKenna contracted the virus here in Australia, testing negative five times prior to his positive result.
“So based on those facts, he’s picked it up this week here in Australia. But again, I will defer to the health department. They are the facts as we know them.”
McLachlan confirmed that all Essendon players and staff have been tested, with only McKenna returning a positive test.
“All Essendon players and staff were tested last night and Conor McKenna was the only person to return a positive test, even though he was asymptomatic and showed no signs of having the virus,” McLachlan said.
“We put this testing regime in place for a reason. It was to ensure we knew if someone had the virus and we would take the action to ensure we did not spread it to other players, staff or the wider community. Without the testing we would not have known. So the system has done what it was designed to do.”
McKenna was set to play in Essendon’s 22-man team against Melbourne on Sunday at the MCG.
Although tomorrow’s Essendon v Melbourne match has been postponed, McLachlan confirmed that all other games will proceed as normal.
More to come.
