There will probably be no league-wide or team-issued bubbles for the 2020 postseason, the NFL advised its groups in a memo despatched across the league on Tuesday. Particularly, groups could not require gamers and employees members to remain at a resort through the postseason apart from the night time earlier than a sport, by way of the NFL Community’s Tom Pelissero.
The NFL and NFLPA’s medical consultants agreed to forgo bubbles based mostly on the COVID-19 testing information. Briefly, the NFL believes that their present protocols are working.
“This determination relies upon an evaluation of the frequency of constructive circumstances within the league in comparison with the chance of serious unfold amongst gamers and employees gathered for an intensive time frame at one resort,” the assertion stated.
The league additionally introduced new protocols that will probably be efficient beginning with Thursday night time’s sport between the Raiders and Chargers. Beginning this week, a person who has examined constructive for COVID-19 and is cleared to return to interplay with the group and take part on sport day will probably be permitted to play. This particular person, nevertheless, is not going to be permitted to journey or work together with anybody on the group till his isolation interval has ended. Moreover, any asymptomatic particular person who checks constructive for COVID-19 is not going to be permitted to return till 10 days have handed since receiving a constructive take a look at outcome, and after applicable session, which features a notification of NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills, determines that the person could return.
The league’s present every day testing and protocols will proceed all through the postseason for groups that qualify for the playoffs. Groups that don’t high quality for the postseason will proceed to stay beneath the league’s testing protocol for per week. After that, non-playoff groups will probably be free to make use of their very own protocols. Playoff groups will probably be required to make use of two aircrafts for journey to and from video games. Gamers and employees members who’re staying at a team-provided resort of their native space will probably be required to put on a Kinexon machine always till they return to their resort every night time.
So far as this yr’s Tremendous Bowl is worried, February 7 stays the date when the AFC and NFC champions will meet in Tampa. And whereas he hopes {that a} restricted quantity of followers will probably be allowed to attend the sport, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated this week that the precise quantity of people that will probably be permitted to attend the sport stays up within the air.
“We will attempt to deliver as many followers as we are able to safely do into Raymond James Stadium, however we’ll be working with the native officers on that,” Goodell stated on Monday, by way of Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Instances. “I am unsure there is a particular quantity that we’re assured saying that is what will probably be. However clearly our focus will probably be preserving them secure, whoever is there. … We is not going to make projections about what the present surroundings will probably be 55 days from now.”