Coronavirus: New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton the first in NFL to test positive for Covid-19

Fifty-six-year-old urged people to take the health risk seriously

The NFL has its first confirmed case of coronavirus.

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton revealed on Thursday that he had tested positive for the disease, which continues to disrupt the calendars of the majority of sports around the world.

Payton told ESPN that he was tested on Monday and received his result on Thursday.

“I was fortunate to be in the minority, without the serious side effects that some have,” the 56-year-old told the network.

He also urged people to take the health risk seriously, saying: “This is not just about social distancing.

“It’s shutting down here for a week to two weeks.

“If people understand the curve, and understand the bump, we can easily work together as a country to reduce it.”

Payton has been in charge of the Saints since 2006, the second longest current NFL tenure behind Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. He guided the Saints to a Super Bowl victory in the 2009 season and more recently the team has made the play-offs in the past three seasons.

The NFL, the most popular professional sports league in the United States, has largely escaped any significant impact of the virus until now, because it is in the off-season.

But with free agency having now started and some players restricted in their travel movements, it is not immune.

Reuters