Seattle Stadium Employee Who Worked Dallas Renegades-Dragons XFL Game Tests Positive For Coronavirus
SEATTLE (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A part-time stadium employee at the 72,000-seat venue where the XFL's Seattle Dragons hosted the Dallas Renegades last month has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Chase Gallagher, a spokesman for King County, said Thursday that previously scheduled sporting events at CenturyLink Field will proceed. However, health authorities have advised that the elderly and people with weak immune systems not attend games or matches there in the near term.
CenturyLink Field is also home to the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
Gallagher said health officials are working with the stadium to determine potential exposures from a Feb. 22 game involving the Dragons and the Renegades. Chase said that authorities determined the risk of infection for people who attended that game was low.
KIRO reports that health officials are talking with a few co-workers who may have had close contact with the employee.
"We are actively working with local and federal health agencies as well as league offices (NFL, MLS, XFL) on the latest recommendations and guidelines to ensure the safest environment possible for our guests and staff," the stadium's operator, First and Goal, told KIRO in a statement. "CenturyLink Field has implemented heightened sanitation procedures and processes, including enhanced cleaning treatments to disinfect all areas of the stadium before and after every event, additional hand sanitizing stations, and continued staff training and education."
Seventy cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Washington state, most in the Seattle area. 11 people have died, including nine from a suburban nursing home.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)