Photoby Visionhaus
The star forward likely won’t be returning to Liverpool for a
little while after a second test confirmed his status.
When Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, there
was some hope the player might have returned a false positive as
was the case with Xherdan Shaqiri during the last international
break.
A second positive test dashed those hopes, and now the best case
scenario for the player will see him isolating for the next two
weeks—and he won’t return to Liverpool until he tests negative and
ends his isolation.
In the meantime, the Egyptian FA say he will be well taken care
of and that protocols for contact tracing and testing are being
adhered to in order to determine when and where he contracted the
virus and who he might have passed it on to.
“Anyone who was in contact with Salah will undergo a PCR test
and I want to reassure everyone that all the medical protocols are
being followed,” said Egyptian sports minister Ashraf Sobhi.
Three other players have also tested positive.
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“I met with Salah once at the start of the camp and another time
during the event. We followed the protocol very precisely during
the event with Salah’s agent and Liverpool. We made sure to fulfill
all of the club’s requests.
“Anyone is subject to possibly contracting the virus at any
time. The most important thing is how to properly deal with the
person after they tested positive. We’re taking good care of Salah
and everyone else.”
Concerns were raised prior to Salah’s positive test after
video of the player attending his brother’s
wedding in Cairo earlier in the week, where he was seen dancing and
embracing sans mask in an enclosed space, was shared on social
media.
However, given other Egyptian players have also tested positive
for COVID-19, it can’t be ruled out that Salah contracted the virus
early in the week, shortly after joining up with the national
team.