NFL lays out protocols for reopening facilities

[June 09, 2020]  With NFL teams reportedly set to start bringing players back to the workplace later this month, the NFL issued a detailed list of protocols Monday for the reopening of club facilities.

The full nine-page memo, dated Sunday, was published by NFL.com. The league is putting the detailed procedures in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The main topics covered are facility access, physical distancing, facility cleaning and disinfecting, equipment cleaning and disinfecting, food service and personal protective equipment (PPE) and hygiene, plus the league's compliance orders.

Among the notable topics:

--Daily coronavirus tests will be administered to all players and club employees admitted in the "restricted areas" (fields and sidelines, locker rooms, training/medical areas, player meal and meeting rooms and weight rooms).

--On-field personnel, including coaches, trainers, physicians and head equipment manager, will be limited to a maximum of 60 -- in addition to players.

--Locker rooms must be reconfigured to allow players to maintain the social-distancing standard of 6 feet of separation.

--Strength and conditioning workouts will be limited to groups of no more than 15 players.

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/File Photo

--Virtual meetings are encouraged, with in-person meetings capped at 20 people, "unless physical distancing practices can be adhered to."

--Players and staff must wear surgical or cloth masks whenever inside the facility "unless a mask cannot be worn by players due to interference with performance of athletic activities." Cloth masks must be laundered daily.

--Equipment, including helmets and shoulder pads, must be cleaned after each practice or game.

NFL Network reported earlier Monday that players who need physicals, including rookies and players signed in free agency, could begin arriving at team facilities before June 26.

--Field Level Media

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.