The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Facilities shut after another positive
Source: Falcons take quick action after assistant’s test results.
After one new positive COVID19 test, the Falcons, who have had nine players placed on the NFL’s reserve/ COVID- 19 list, shut down their facility Thursday.
The Falcons also were the fifirst team to have a player on the list during the 2020 season before there were outbreaks in Tennessee and New England.
“Out of an abundance of caution following one new positive test, we have made the decision to stop all in- person work at IBM Performance Field Thursday and will conduct all operations virtually,” the team said in a statement. “This decision was made in consultation with the NFL and medical offifficials. The health and safety of our team is our highest priority.”
Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical offifficer, in consultation with medical experts, determines when a clubmust followthe Post Exposure COVID procedures. The NFL knew there would be positive tests once the season started.
“If we can employ the appropriate mitigation strategies, we can keep those cases isolated,” Sills said. “As I said the other day, keep it at the level of having a camp fifire and prevent it from turning into a forest fifire, which is obviously what we are trying to do here.”
The Falcons expect to return
to the building today and play their game against the Minnesota Vikings at 1 p. m. Sunday at U. S. Bank Stadium. The one individual who tested positive was an assistant coach, but not a coordinator, according to someone familiar with the situation.
Dawn Aponte, the NFL’s chief football administrative officer, works with the teams and the medical experts.
“We try to ensure constant and clear communications with the clubs,” Aponte said. “We have had about one- third of the league who have been under these intensive protocols. We continue to learn on a week- to- week, and sometimes now on a day- to- day, basis all of the things that we can do and share with the clubs to help to limit and mitigate risks.”
The Falcons, whoare scheduled to travel to Minneapolis on Saturday, are 0- 5 and fired general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn this past Sunday. Raheem Morris was introduced as the interim head coach Tuesday.
“Right now, in this new COVID1 9world, there’s a lot of things that come up in that world every single day,” Morris said. “You just have to deal with that all the time.”
A day after their second player was placed on the NFL’s reserve/ COVID- 19 list since the start of the season, the Falcons were under a heightened level of protocols Wednesday.
Rookie defensive tackle Marlon Davidson, who has played in three games, was placed on the list Tuesday. Earlier this season, rookie cornerback A. J. Terrell, who was the 16th overall pick in the draft, was placed on the list Sept. 26 and missed two games.
The league and the Falcons are hoping to avoid an outbreak such as the Tennessee Titans had, which caused them not to play a game for 17 days. The original report by ESPN cited “multiple” positive tests that led to the Falcons’ shutdown.
“Clearly, we affirmed again the great importance of mask use and also the risk of meetings,” Sills said of the league’s lessons from the Tennessee and New England situations. “Clearly, when folks are meeting in small spaces and particularly if masks are not involved, there is a high risk of transmission. I think mask use, at all times, ( and) avoidance of small in- person meetings are very important lessons.
“But I think in the affirmative, we still see no evidence of on- field transmission from football- related activities, which I think is important.”
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and safety Ricardo Allen discussed the situation Wednesday, a day before the shutdown.
“Asmuch as possible, we have to keep our masks on everywhere that we go,” Allen said. “In the hot tub, it doesn’t matter. Anywhere you are in the vicinity of being around someone else, you have to have a mask on.”
The Falcons are not permitted to comment on a player’s medical status other than to refer to roster status. Clubs may not disclose whether a player is in quarantine or tested positive for COVID- 19.
Falcons running back Todd Gurley and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett were outspoken about player safety before the start of the season. But as training camp went on, both were pleased with the team’s protocols.
“I have visited the Falcons’ facility,” Sills said. “I applaud them for the work that they’ve done. I think they have done a terrific job of reconfiguring their facility. Of thinking through all of the procedures and protocols or really emphasizing things on a day- today basis. They have done a very good job there. The situation of today shouldn’t change that fact.”
The trend of COVID- 19 cases increasing around the nation is troublesome to the NFL.
“It’s getting more challenging over these next fewweeks because the disease is spiking throughout the country,” Sills said. “So what that means is that our players, coaches and staff are going to be more exposed when they leave the facility, particularly if they have household members or children maybe going to school.
“I think that’s why we have to double- down on our efforts on all sites and every club. No on can sortof relax and think tha twe have this conquered. But I would say the Falcons have been very proactive. They’ve been very cooperative through this. I’m very confident that their medical leadership is going to help as we deal with this situation.”
The NFL expects the cold- andflu season to complicate matters moving forward. More players, coaches and staff are expected to be removed from the facility if they have cold or flu symptoms even with a negative test.
“In today’s time and the situation that we are in, we always have to rule out COVID- 19 first in those situations,” Sills said. “So when someone reports symptoms, even if they have a negative test that same day, we are going to hold that individual out of the facility.”
“We are also going to contact-trace and see if they have any of those high- risk contacts that I spoke about, and we’re going to pull those folks out of the facility.”
Davidson became the ninth Falcon — seven in training camp and two in season— placed on the reserve/ COVID- 19 list. The assistant coach was the 10th member of the team affected.
Terrell, safety Jamal Carter, fullback Keith Smith, safety Chris Cooper, rookie safety Jaylinn Hawkins, defensive tackle Tyeler Davison, quarterback Danny Etlingandline backer Foye Oluokun all served stints on the reserve/ COVID- 19 list. Etling later was released.
The Titans had the NFL’s first COVID- 19 outbreak, with the league shutting down their facility Sept. 29. The outbreak reached a total of 24 players and personnel, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because neither the NFL nor the Titans commented on all the test results.
The Falcons were one of three teams who did not have a player choose to opt out of this season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Chargers and Steelers also didn’t have a player opt out before the season started. A total of 66 players and free agent Larry Warford opted out.
Sills was asked at what point would the NFL considering closing down the season.
“Our goal is to move forward and try to live with the virus, to continue to allow our teams to operate as long as it appears safe to do so,” Sills said. “But we’ve also clearly said, we are going to be informed by what our situation is, by what our data is showing us and by the public health data.
“None of these decisions are made in isolation. We have to continue to stay in close contact with public health authorities both at the local and national level and seewhat the state of the pandemic is.”