On the heels of this week’s owners meetings and deliberations with the NFL Players Association on what measures to take in hopes of slowing the rise of positive COVID-19 cases across the league, the NFL on Thursday announced the implementation of additional preventative measures.
A statement issued by the league read, “Throughout the pandemic we have continuously evolved our protocols to meet our goal of advancing the safety of the players, coaches and staff. The changes we are making today aim to address the increase in cases and the advent of the Omicron variant. Effective immediately, all clubs will implement preventative measures that have proven effective: masking regardless of vaccination status, remote or outdoor meetings, eliminating in-person meals, and no outside visitors while on team travel. We will continue to strongly encourage booster shots as the most effective protection.
"Finally, and based on expert advice, we will adjust the return-to-participation requirements for those who have recovered from COVID-19. All of these changes are grounded in our data and science-backed approach, with safety our number-one goal for the entire NFL community.”
Previously, only players who were unvaccinated were required to wear masks in indoor settings and on sidelines if they were not part of the game-day roster. Vaccinated players were permitted to take part in group meals and visit friends and family on road trips.
Now, however, the league is cracking down and reverting largely to the protocols used last season before vaccinations became available.
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NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said in a conference call with reporters that this latest variant of the virus does seem to produce milder symptoms, however, he and fellow league officials believe that it’s best to implement more rigid practices to help limit the spread.
Sills said that discussions and research on how to bring players and coaches back from quarantines remains ongoing. Sills said the goal is not to figure out how to bring individuals back faster, but instead, to figure out how to bring them in as safe a manner as possible.
“You want to make sure that they are not a danger to themselves or anyone else,” Sills said. “We want to make sure that they are recovered and make sure they aren’t shedding enough of live virus into an environment and spreading it to others.”
Previously, vaccinated individuals were permitted to return as soon as they were asymptomatic and able to produce two negative tests separated by at least 24 hours, and unvaccinated individuals had to quarantine for 10 days before returning.
However, going forward, any fully vaccinated players or coaches who are asymptomatic are eligible to be tested daily and will be able to return from quarantine as soon as their COVID-19 levels are below a threshold that the league’s medical experts have determined ensures that they are no longer at risk of spreading the virus.
In the last week, more than 100 players have tested positive for the coronavirus after the first 12 weeks of the season saw only an average of eight positive cases per week. Most of those positive cases this week are involving players who are asymptomatic, Sills said.
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