Four players from Italian side Sampdoria have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, including one for the second time, the Serie club said.
"Currently asymptomatic, they have been placed in quarantine and will be constantly monitored as per protocol," the club said in a statement https://www.sampdoria.it/covid-19-comunicazione-u-c-sampdoria-del-7-maggio-2020.
Fiorentina said three players and three staff members tested positive while a day earlier Torino said one player had contracted the new coronavirus.
On Thursday, the government said it was still examining medical guidelines of the Italian football federation, which are seen as the stumbling block to a resumption of the season.
Teams have been allowed to start practicing this week with players training individually and adhering to social distancing protocols. Full team practices are due to begin on May 18, but only if the medical protocol is approved.
Five Sampdoria players -- Manolo Gabbiadini, Morten Thorsby, Albin Ekdal, Omar Colley and Antonino La Gumina -- as well as team doctor Amedeo Baldari had tested positive in March.
Italy has recorded more than 215,000 cases of the virus, which has caused over 29,000 deaths in the country.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
