Lionel Messi, three other French club soccer players test positive for COVID-19

Soccer star Lionel Messi and three other players on his Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) team have tested positive for COVID-19.

In addition to Messi, PSG players Juan Bernat, Sergio Rico and Nathan Bitumazala also tested positive for the virus, the team said in an announcement on Sunday.

All four players “are currently in isolation and are subject to the appropriate health protocol,” according to the statement.

PSG’s head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, said he was not certain if Messi, who is currently in Argentina, would be part of the team’s next league game, which scheduled for Jan. 9, according to Reuters.

“Until he gets a negative test in Argentina, he will not be able to travel to France. So it is all down to the test in terms of when he can travel. … We will assess when he is ready to play,” Pochettino said, per the news service.

The players’ infections come as France grapples with its own rise in COVID-19 cases. 

France had a record high of 1,104,066 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, accounting for more than 10 percent of the country’s all-time cases, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.

As a result of the onslaught of cases, France has attempted to increase pressure on unvaccinated residents to get their shots by prohibiting them from going to cinemas and other attractions and removing the option to show a negative COVID-19 test result.

Additionally, the country announced Saturday that children ages 6 and up must wear a mask in public, indoor spaces. Previously, the masking requirement was in place only for children ages 11 and up.