MLB is closing spring training facilities in Arizona and Florida to curb coronavirus spread, report says

• Major League Baseball has shut down spring training facilities in Arizona and Florida as several players and staff test positive for COVID-19.
• Both Arizona and Florida have seen spikes in coronavirus cases over the past few weeks.
• MLB and the MLB Players Association are negotiating the terms of a shortened season.

Major League Baseball decided to immediately shut down spring training facilities in Arizona and Florida to curb coronavirus spread after at least 12 players and staff tested positive for COVID-19, according to USA Today.

Among those who tested positive were five Philadelphia Phillies players and three staff members who were training at a facility in Clearwater, Florida.

Both states saw spikes in coronavirus cases in the past few weeks. In Arizona, coronavirus hospitalizations rose 49% from May 26 to June 9. And on Tuesday, Florida confirmed its highest daily total of new coronavirus cases at more than 2,700. As of Monday, the state's number of coronavirus hospitalizations had almost doubled since May 4.

The Governor of Arizona is not considering reinstituting a lock down. And in Miami, Mayor Francis Suarez said he wouldn't impose another stay-at-home order for now, but that the city wouldn't proceed with reopening bars and nightclubs as planned, Business Insider has reported.

The spring training facilities will undergo deep cleaning, and players and staff will be required to get tested for COVID-19 before being able to use the facilities again.

The facilities closure comes as the MLB is negotiating what this year's baseball season will look like. While the MLB Players Association has proposed a 70-game shortened season, MLB has most recently proposed a 60-game season. The Players Association board is expected to meet this week to decide whether to accept MLB's proposal.

MLB says that they want the regular season to end in September, with the World Series concluding before November amid fear of a second wave of COVID-19.

Teams will be able to train at their home fields. New York's Mets and Yankees are expected to train in their home state, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said today during a press briefing.