This archive report was first published on 21 May 2020.
On May 20, 2020, eight footballers from top-flight Mexican team Santos Laguna tested positive for the coronavirus, casting a shadow over plans to restart the national league.
The Liga MX, Mexico's top football league, had been expected to resume play by the end of the week, but the positive tests have complicated matters.
"This particular situation makes resuming the league more complicated," said Alejandro Irarragorri, owner of Santos Laguna, in an interview with TV sports channel TUDN.
Of the 48 tests conducted on players and coaches, only 22 results have been received, suggesting the situation at Santos Laguna could be even more dire.
The players who tested positive were asymptomatic, according to Liga MX.
Other clubs, including Guadalajara and Monterrey, are also conducting screenings for the disease, with Monterrey reporting no positive cases.
With over 6,000 fatalities, Mexico has the second-highest coronavirus death toll in Latin America, behind Brazil.
Play in the Liga MX was suspended in mid-March, and less than a week later, the league's president, Enrique Bonilla, announced he had contracted the disease, but showed no serious symptoms.
Another club, San Luis, has also seen its president diagnosed with Covid-19.
