The NFL continues to revise its COVID-19 protocols seemingly on a weekly basis.
On Monday night, teams got a new memo from the league outlining some new changes. Some of them included daily testing is extended to include gamedays, masks are now required for coaches who are wearing face shields and masks are required during walkthroughs.
Additionally, an individual is identified as a “high risk” close contact of a player who has tested positive, he/she must be isolated and cannot return to the team facility for a minimum of five days.
This potentially, and likely, would have come into play with the Patriots over the last few weeks.
Any player who was deemed a “high risk” close contact of Cam Newton would not have been allowed to travel to Kansas City, as they would have had to isolate for five days.
It’s unclear exactly how many of the 20 or so close contacts of Newton that were on the separate plane would have been identified as “high risk” close contacts, but one of them could have been Stephon Gilmore, who reportedly had dinner with Newton the night he learned he tested positive.
Here is how someone is determined to be a “high risk” close contact: An individual will be designed as a “High Risk” Close Contact if they have had exposure to a confirmed positive individual in a way that Dr. Sills, in consultation wth the others identified above, concludes results in a greater chance of contracting the virus than would a “normal” close contact due to the duration, proximity or other circumstances of the interaction.
The wording is rather vague, but is worth wondering if a quarterback tests positive, could the entire quarterbacks room be considered a “high risk” close contact? It certainly seems possible.
As the NFL learns more and more about how the virus spreads, etc. it is tweaking its protocols and it seems this one is directly related to the Patriots and their trip to Kansas City just two days after Newton tested positive.
