Mohamed Salah Isolating in Egypt Following Second COVID-19 Positive

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.

“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.