Professor on CNN Warns MLB Outbreak is Tip of the Iceberg if Schools Reopen: ‘We’re About to Have a Disaster on Top of a Disaster’

To one public health expert, the Miami Marlins outbreak — in which at least 14 members of the team, including 12 players, have contracted the coronavirus — is a frightening harbinger of things to come.

Appearing on CNN’s New Day Tuesday, Professor William Haseltine issued a dire warning — stating that what’s happening in baseball could happen on a dramatically larger scale if schools reopen in the fall.

“I think what you’re seeing is what’s about to happen in our high schools,” Haseltine said. “There’s very little difference between the way the virus spreads in young baseball players — many who are just barely into their 20s — and how it’s going to spread in high schools with anybody who’s an adolescent or a teenager.”

Any attempt to create a bubble won’t work either, according to Haseltine. No matter how much testing is done in an effort to create a protected space, the virus will find its way in.

“The only way to contain the virus is to do it in a very broad program … shutting down states, having systematic public health measures,” Haseltine said. “You can’t do it institution by institution. It’s just not possible. That’s what Major League Baseball is showing to us.”

Haseltine expressed fear that schools reopening would mirror the return of baseball on an exponentially larger scale.

“I’m afraid — I’m actually terrified — that that’s about to happen to our school systems. All of this emphasis on young children not being so infected — they do get infected. Just look at what’s happening in Florida right now. They may not get infected at the same rate, but the moment they’re all in school together, they’re going to get infected. They will infect their families. Their families will infect others. And we’re about to have a disaster on top of a disaster.”

Watch above, via CNN.