Coronavirus: Seahawks QB Drew Lock tests positive for COVID-19

SEATTLE — Drew Lock is the latest NFL star to test positive for COVID-19, KIRO-TV reported Tuesday evening.

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In a media release, the Seattle Seahawks said the 25-year-old quarterback, who had been slated to start Thursday against the Chicago Bears, will miss the preseason game.

Lock, who also contracted COVID-19 in November, has been vaccinated, ESPN reported. He will be required to isolate for a minimum of five days, according to the news outlet.

The former Denver Broncos quarterback has been competing with Geno Smith to become the Seahawks’ starter. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters earlier Tuesday – less than two hours before the team announced the positive test – that having Lock start the upcoming preseason game “was part of the plan,” according to Seahawks.com.

“Regardless of what happened, we were going to Drew a chance to start a game to see what happens,” Carroll said. “Fortunately, he has played really well, and he deserves a shot to play, just like everybody deserves a shot to play and show what they can do, so we’ve been able to stick to it.”

The 31-year-old Smith, however, remains “the No. 1 guy” and “is holding onto his spot at this point,” Carroll said, according to the team’s website.

The news came as the rate of new COVID-19 cases appeared to be declining domestically and globally, according to The New York Times. As of Tuesday, the U.S. was averaging 100,747 new cases per day, down 18% from two weeks earlier, the newspaper reported. The worldwide average was 810,634 new cases per day, down 19% from 14 days earlier.

As for fatalities, the U.S. averaged 467 deaths per day – an increase of 4% from two weeks earlier, the newspaper reported. The global average was 2,446 daily deaths, up 1% from 14 days earlier.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that 67.3% of the U.S. population is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19. About 48.3% of fully vaccinated residents have received a booster dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the agency said.

Globally, about 67.4% of people have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, compared with just 20.7% of the population in low-income countries, Oxford University’s Our World in Data project reported Tuesday.

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