As FC Dallas sees more positive coronavirus cases, the Chicago Fire enter the MLS “bubble”

After an in-house match in Bridgeview and a charter flight to Florida Wednesday, the Chicago Fire are waking up this morning inside the quarantine bubble at the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando.

For the Fire, everything appears to be going smoothly ahead of the July 8 opener against Nashville SC. For other MLS teams, it’s a very different story.

Like Chicago, Nashville was supposed to leave for Orlando on Wednesday. But, the club pushed back its flight until Thursday after a member of the organization tested positive.

The FC Dallas situation is far worse. MLS announced Wednesday the club had six players test positive for COVID-19, and those players were moved to an isolation area of the league hotel. Last night, The Athletic reported three more FC Dallas players and one coach were also positive. With only 19 players left that haven’t tested positive, ESPN reports the league is considering pushing back Dallas’ July 9 match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

There are no plans to cancel the tournament, according to the ESPN report.

“No other members of the MLS delegation at the host hotel have tested positive, and no other club has been in contact with the FC Dallas delegation since they arrived in Florida,” MLS said in a news release about the initial six players.

Chicago Fire FC

Like all other teams, the Fire were tested immediately upon arrival, and will be tested every other day for the duration of the tournament. A team spokesperson confirmed Thursday no Fire players or staff have tested positive for coronavirus.

The team could train in Orlando for the first time today. We’ll bring you any updates. In the meantime, enjoy this ridiculous Twitter thread of the guys arriving at the resort.