The NFL sent a memo to teams on Friday instructing them to all close their facilities on Monday and Tuesday in an effort to stem the tide of the coronavirus outbreak around the league and country. No in-person activities are allowed in NFL facilities on November 29 or 30 except for the games being played.
The move is “as a mitigation measure in response to rising COVID-19 positivity rates across the country and news of a number of players and staff members hosting out-of-town guests for Thanksgiving,” reports NFL Network.
The Buffalo Bills host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.
The NFL is hopeful that the incubation period from Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday to Wednesday morning will be enough time for the virus to present in players’ daily COVID-19 testing. Apparently that means they think Thursday to Sunday won’t be enough time for the problem to surface in this weekend’s full slate of action.
Normally Mondays and Tuesdays are film sessions and walk-throughs. The league is allowing essential medical treatment and rehab to continue in-person.
In addition to the NFL’s closure of facilities, the NFL Players Association has asked players to report if they’ve had guests at their house and consider extra Point Of Care testing above and beyond the daily testing for those individuals.