Two Parma players in quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19

Parma have announced that two of their players have gone into quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19.

As part of a round of testing that included “about 60 people” the Serie A club announced that two players saw their tests come back positive, though they were in “excellent” condition and did not have symptoms. 

“At the end of the exams, all the members of the team group tested negative for the two swabs for Covid-19 performed within 24 hours, except for two players who tested positive for the first swab and negative for the second,” read a club statement.

“The athletes – both in excellent physical and asymptomatic conditions – were however placed in immediate isolation and the team will constantly monitor them.”

Parma’s announcement came on the same day that Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte cleared Serie A clubs to return to group training on Monday.

Teams have been working out at their training facilities on an individual basis but will now be able to step up training as they eye a return next month.

Conte did say, however, that there were further safety guarantees that needed to be met before play would be able to resume.

“We must wait for conditions to be achieved to guarantee maximum safety for the resumption of the championship,” Conte said.

“We need some more guarantees which at the moment have not been met. We hope this will happen as soon as possible.”

Parma confirmed that they were set to return to their training facility on Monday, minus the two quarantined players.

“The rest of the group continued preparatory medical sports visits at the beginning of the group trainings, scheduled at the Collecchio Sports Center from Monday, May 18, in strict compliance with the protocols in force to protect the health of the members,” the statement continued.

Earlier this week Serie A clubs selected June 13 as their preferred return date, though government clearance will still be required for play to resume in Italy. 

Serie A has been suspended since March with Italy one of the European countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. More than 30,000 Italians have died from Covid-19.