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An article published on Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that during the season the NFL found that transmission of the virus that caused COVID-19 occurred within 15 minutes of contact. cumulative between individuals – the timeframe initially used by the CDC in its definition of close contact. This led the NFL to redefine what made close contact high risk – factors like masking and ventilation – findings that the CDC and NFL hope will be widely applicable to the public to limit the spread of the virus, especially in schools, long term care facilities, and high-density essential workplaces, such as manufacturing centers.
The document, co-authored by the CDC and medical experts and epidemiologists from the NFL and the NFL Players Association, relied on reams of data generated by the NFL’s daily testing and contact tracing program. The NFL is a unique case because of the vast resources available to test players, coaches, and staff every day, to rapidly deploy contact tracers when there were positive cases, and to use genomic sequencing to determine how the virus spread inside. teams.
But early in the season, the NFL said it wanted to share what it had learned with public health agencies in the hopes that what they learned could help others navigate the process. pandemic. What was gleaned from the season and how protocols evolved – particularly the creation of the Intensive Protocol, which interrupted face-to-face meetings – suggests recommendations that might be useful in other contexts.
“It’s important to recognize that the most impactful intervention was not to test or track the devices,” said Dr. Allen Sills, NFL chief medical officer. “The most prominent interventions have been the universal use of face masks, holding meetings outside and reducing face-to-face meetings, closing dining rooms – all have wide applicability outside of football.”
The quality of the masks used, air circulation and ventilation were also important. This is why face-to-face meetings were ultimately banned in the NFL, even though people could be six feet in a room, and why all meals at team facilities had to be take out – eat together. was an area of vulnerability. .
And the article showed the importance of isolating and quarantining people considered to be high-risk close contacts of an infected person. This mid-season adjustment in NFL protocol was designed to limit the spread of the virus. To date, 37 people isolated after being in high-risk close contact have subsequently tested positive.
The intensive protocol – which included virtual meetings, wearing a mask at all times, including during practice, and eliminating group meals – was put in place in early October for any team with a positive case. In mid-November, the league demanded that all teams operate under intensive protocol. According to the article, no high-risk contacts were identified in 71% of cases where the club was in the intensive protocol. The document called it “an effective mitigation measure”.
Sills said on a conference call that the NFL had found no evidence of virus transmission during games – daily tests meant very few infected players were on the field and players spent very little time on the field. close contact during a game – and had also not traced any outbreaks or clusters to games that allowed fans.
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