NFL players won’t be the only ones getting tested for COVID-19 before training camps begin this summer.
According to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero, players’ families and cohabitants will be tested for the novel coronavirus before training camps begin in late July. Pelissero says there will be two kinds of screenings, a nasal swab test and a finger prick, to determine whether the person is carrying or has carried the virus.
“Right now, the NFL and NFLPA, though, still finalizing their testing protocols,” Pelissero said Monday on “NFL Now,” as transcribed by NFL.com’s Kevin Patra. “… Now, in addition to testing the players, I am told that the plan would be to also test players’ family members and anyone else who they are cohabitating with, give them an initial test as well. Everyone is confident that they’ll be able to get those results back within 24 hours.”
That said, the NFL knows testing won’t be the only way of preventing an outbreak within the league.
“Now it’s important to understand, this is not a bubble that the NFL is doing here but it is an ecosystem; that is something that Dr. Thom Mayer from the (NFL players’) union and Dr. Allen Sills from the NFL emphasized to players in a conference call on Friday, which is that testing alone is not a magic bullet, it’s also about wearing masks, social distancing, your behavior even when you are away from the facility. The league and union are also collaborating and finalizing educational videos that players will be shown during camp.”
The NFL reportedly plans on testing players at least three times a week (if not more) and hopes to utilize saliva tests instead of the full nasal swab.
