COVID-19 has taken quite a toll on the Baltimore Ravens these last two weeks.
According to team president Dick Cass, "at least four unique strains" of the virus were found within their facility. One of those strains wound up being more contagious than the rest, and the team paid the price.
"Three of the four were stopped and not spread within our organization," Cass said Saturday in a statement. "Unfortunately, the fourth was a highly-contagious strain and spread throughout our organization."
Cass assured the team has taken the virus "very seriously" but admitted some members of the organization weren't as cautious as they should have been. This led to 18 players landing on the Ravens' reserve/COVID-19 list in one week alone.
"Despite our best efforts, the protocol is only as effective as our weakest link," Cass said. "With a dangerous virus like this, everyone must comply with the protocol to avoid infecting many. We now know that not everyone at the Ravens followed the protocol thoroughly."
The outbreak led the NFL to rescheduled two of the Ravens' games, one of which was moved three times.
Cass urged others to learn from the Ravens' mistakes and "take care" of themselves as the pandemic continues.
"We cannot undo what has occurred," Cass said. "But, we can do our best to learn from what has happened and be vigilant moving forward to ensure that it does not happen again. As the recent experience has shown us, this virus does not need a large opening to spread within an organization, and 99% compliance is not a passing grade when dealing with this virus."
A staff member has been disciplined for his role in spreading the virus.
