Dec. 16 (UPI) — The NFL has said teams will not be allowed to have mandatory local “bubbles” or require players and staffers to stay at hotels during the playoffs, except for the nights before games.
The league and players union informed all 32 teams of the decision in a memo Tuesday after it received recommendations from medical experts.
“This decision is based upon an analysis of the frequency of positive cases in the league compared to the risk of significant spread among players and staff gathered for an extensive period of time at one hotel,” the memo said.
Teams will still be allowed to provide hotel rooms for players who ask for one.
The NBA used a “bubble” atmosphere in Florida when it resumed its season in July, as a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus from sources outside the league.
The NFL also made updates to its COVID-19 protocol Tuesday and announced the results for the latest round of testing.
Going forward, any person who tests positive but is cleared to return to games and team activities will be allowed to play. Those players, though, will not be permitted to travel or interact with teammates until their isolation period ends.
The update also says asymptomatic players who test positive won’t be allowed to return until at least 10 days after their most recent positive test and have been given clearance from NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills.
The latest test results show 14 new positives for players and 31 for other personnel between Dec. 6 and Dec. 12. About 42,000 tests were given to players and staffers over that period.
The league has now had 187 players and 328 personnel test positive since the start of August.