schema:articleBody
| - Four NFL players and six other members of team personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 in the latest results released Tuesday by the league and the NFL Players Association. The results covered August 21-29 with no teams or individuals specified in the statement, which came barely a week ahead of the NFL's scheduled 2020 season opener on September 10 sending Houston to reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City. There were four positives among 23,279 tests given to 2,747 players, a positive to player ratio of 0.145%. Among other team personnel, the six positives from 35,342 tests taken by 5,992 people produced a positive to person ratio of 0.1% In all, a total of 58,621 tests produced a combined 10 positives during the span. From August 12-20, there were a combined 58,397 tests conducted on players and staff members with no players testing positive and just six positives among other personnel. Players were tested daily with personnel tested daily or weekly. Those testing positive entered the NFL-NFLPA treatment protocol, starting with isolation, no access to club facilities and no direct contact with players or other personnel. Team medical staff are in regular communication with individuals who test positive to monitor symptoms. NFLPA president J.C. Tretter, a center for the Cleveland Browns, said Monday in a blog posting on the union's website that he will push to maintain daily player testing through the season. The NFL plans to continue daily testing for players only through Saturday even with teams traveling to home stadiums in all cities for games, some of them planning spectators with reduced capacity to allow social distancing. "We must remain vigilant to avoid getting lax with protocol enforcement," Tretter said. "We have seen other sports experience setbacks and outbreaks, in part because they stopped prioritizing the safety measures put into place. "Our collective efforts cannot stop until we complete a full season. In the spirit of adaptability, expect the NFLPA to push for (safety protocol) modifications or updated recommendations -- such as the continuation of daily testing -- as the season progresses and new information becomes available." While the NBA and National Hockey League have done well in bubble siuations, Major League Baseball has played in empty team stadiums and been nagged by virus outbreaks on multiple teams and been forced to postpone numerous contests. js/rcw
|