Giants confirm false COVID-19 positives amid feared outbreak

The 2-6 New York Giants could've done without any off-the-field distractions ahead of Sunday's game against the 5-2 Las Vegas Raiders but had no such luck.

A reported 13 Giants team personnel initially tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, but retesting showed that running backs coach Burton Burns was the only confirmed coronavirus case from that group. However, it was later learned that running back Saquon Barkley, safety Xavier McKinney and right guard Matt Skura tested positive on Wednesday. 

The Giants offered an update on the situation early Thursday afternoon. 

"As a precautionary measure, we canceled in-facility meetings for players this morning and closed our office to non-football staff," the club explained without mentioning any specific athletes. "Football meetings are being conducted virtually. Players, unless their test results are still being assessed under COVID protocols, will return this afternoon for practice.

"Bio-Reference Laboratories (BRL) is experiencing an unusually high number of false positives using the Rapid Mesa Test at our facility. With the exception of one individual, all of the positive Mesa test results over the last two days have come back negative through PCR testing. The laboratory is working with experts to determine the source of the problem.

"The NFL and BRL are monitoring this situation closely. We are temporarily halting the use of the Rapid Mesa Test and administering PCR tests only."

SNY's Ralph Vacchiano later reported Skura has been confirmed as a "false positive" result, but that isn't yet the case for the other two: