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In anticipation of the expected spike in COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving weekend, the NFL has issued a warrant for next week that all facilities will close Monday and Tuesday.
“In response to the continued increase in positivity rates across the country, as well as our understanding that a number of players and staff have celebrated Thanksgiving with outside guests city, all in-person team activities on Monday, November 30 and Tuesday, December 1 will be banned, ”Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to all teams in a Friday memo, of which the PFT obtained a copy.
This ban will not apply to clubs participating in Monday and Tuesday matches. And that won’t affect the preparation of the teams that will play next Thursday, as next Thursday’s game between the Cowboys and the Ravens has already been moved to the following Monday, given the postponement of the Ravens-Steelers game to Tuesday.
“All activities must be carried out virtually [on Monday and Tuesday], with the exception of essential medical treatment and rehabilitation under the supervision of a team doctor or sports coach, ”explained Goodell. “Medical staff and players must continue to abide by the rules set out in the Intensive Protocol. In addition, players and staff should be reminded that gatherings of any kind outside the facility are prohibited.
The memo also points out that the NFL Players Association “has asked its members to alert your club’s infection control manager if they have any guests in the past few days so you can consider additional Mesa POC testing for those. players when your installation reopens.
Whether this is enough to slow the spread of the virus remains to be seen. Players who caught COVID-19 from out of town guests could spread the virus on Sunday, with a positive sample given on Sunday morning that will not be tested and returned until the game is over. This is one of the factors that contributed to the epidemic in Baltimore.
Either way, it’s good to see the league doing more to improve the ability to play all 256 regular-season games over the originally scheduled 17 weeks. At some point (by that time may have already arrived) the best decision will be to place all the teams in hotels, creating bubbles in the domestic market with the conclusion of the regular season (at five weeks) and the completion of the playoffs.
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