NFL: Union, league agree to daily
COVID-19 testing through September 5
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[August 13, 2020]
By Amy Tennery
(Reuters) - NFL players can expect
daily COVID-19 testing through Sept. 5, the players' union said on
Wednesday ahead of the season kickoff next month.
The league has conducted 109,075 COVID-19 tests among players, staff
and coaches since the start of training camps through Tuesday, NFL
Chief Medical Officer Allen Sills told reporters on Wednesday, with
an overall positive rate 0.46% and a positive rate among players of
0.81%.
Sills said a total of 53 new infections were confirmed among players
when they arrived at training camp last month.
Sills added that he was not aware of any individual who was
"seriously ill" from COVID-19, adding that not every positive
necessarily meant a person was "actively infected."
"Our goal is all the same: to have the safest possible environment
for everyone," Sills said. “We want to try to ensure that there’s no
one - player, coach, staff member, official, anyone - who steps onto
a field with an active COVID infection."
The league continues to enforce social-distancing measures ahead of
its Sept. 10 season start.
More than 60 players have opted out of playing this season,
according to media reports, amid the coronavirus pandemic that
upended much of daily life this year.
The Washington Football Team said on Tuesday it would not allow any
fans to attend out of an "abundance of caution," but added that it
would re-evaluate the decision if conditions improved.
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The NFL logo is pictured at an event in the Manhattan borough of New
York City, New York, U.S., November 30, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
The New Orleans Saints said on Wednesday that they would not permit
attendees at their Sept. 13 home opener, becoming the latest
franchise to limit spectators at games, adding that they would
"continuously monitor trends" to evaluate whether they could welcome
fans at their Sept. 27 home game against the Green Bay Packers.
"Although the current guidance we have received from our government
leaders suggest this to be unlikely, we remain prepared to host fans
if allowed," the team said in a written statement.
But the Dallas Cowboys, which in July was again ranked by Forbes as
the most valuable sports team in the world, "plan on playing all of
our football games and we plan on playing them in front of our fans"
at AT&T Stadium, owner Jerry Jones told reporters on Wednesday.
"Our safety precautions that we are doing won't be unfamiliar to a
lot of people when we look at the general protocol of the country,"
Jones said.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Ken Ferris and Gerry Doyle)
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