BOSTON (WHDH) - Reality is setting in for the National Football League as positive coronavirus cases begin to rise.
“The risk is never zero,” Infections Disease Epidemiologist Dr. Syrah Madad said. “You could be negative today and just a few hours afterward you could be positive.”
The NFL has focused heavily on testing as they try and reduce positive cases but Madad said that is only part of the equation.
“Testing is not prevention its just detection and it depends on what type of testing your using,” he explained.
On Tuesday, the league issued an additional list of COVID-19 related protocols that include:
- Strengthening guidelines around wearing masks on game day
- Teams must also now keep surveillance video of facilities and practice areas for 30 days
- Players and staff must be at least 10 feet from each other while eating in the cafeteria
- Teams must have a minimum of five buses available for travel
But even with the stricter guidelines and the threat of potential fines, Dr. Mahad said it all comes down to proximity. Something these players cannot avoid.
“It’s important to be mindful to try and limit as much contact as possible even for example touching the football, then touching their mucus membranes which is a portable of entry,” he said.
Doctor George Abraham of St. Vincent Hospital said someone can be asymptomatic but still spread the virus to others. The best way to contain and keep the season going is for the league to operate in a bubble similar to the NBA, he said.
“It would minimize the risk because you can control who the players interact with, isolate them, give them infection,” Abraham said.
They said it is also difficult because the NFL relies on the honor system which requires players to monitor their own activity.
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