BERLIN (AP) — A player on Germany’s national soccer team has tested positive for the coronavirus and four more are in quarantine as a precaution ahead of World Cup qualifying games against Liechtenstein and Armenia.
The German soccer federation said Tuesday that the unnamed player was fully vaccinated and does not have any symptoms. The other four tested negative for the virus but have been instructed by the local health authority in Wolfsburg to isolate because of their proximity to the infected player.
Germany has already qualified for next year’s World Cup ahead of its final qualifiers. The team hosts Liechtenstein in Wolfsburg on Thursday and then plays Armenia in Yerevan on Sunday.
Germany’s rate of infections has been climbing steadily in recent weeks and reached a new pandemic-high on Tuesday of 213.7 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days.