The first NFL player tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19), and he plays in the 49ers' division.
Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen told FOX Sports' Jay Glazer Wednesday morning that he tested positive for the virus three weeks ago and then again early last week. The 24-year-old said he now is symptom-free and expects to be cleared later this week.
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Glazer, who teased the news' release on his FS1 program hours before its airing, reported the Rams closed their team facility to injured players weeks ago but now will be able to re-open for medical purposes "early next week."
Allen first lost his sense of smell and then his sense of taste, he told Glazer. He then experienced flu-like symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the main symptoms are fever, coughing and shortness of breath, but some patients have experienced a loss of smell, taste and other symptoms that overlap with different illnesses like influenza.
Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters last week that there "were some guys ... we had conversations with" when asked if anyone in the organization was personally affected by the coronavirus, but he didn't name them "out of respect for the privacy" of those individuals.
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More than 600,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the United States, according to NBC News reporting, along with over 32,000 deaths. California has 26,818 confirmed cases and 859 virus-related deaths as of this writing.
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Governor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that the "prospect of mass gatherings" -- including sporting events with fans in the stands -- in the state this summer was "negligible at best" barring the development of a vaccine.