NFL Considers Shortening COVID Quarantine, Isolation From 10 To 5 Days
The NFL and the NFL Players Association are working to adopt the new CDC guidelines that would reduce the quarantine time from 10 days to five days for all players — including those who are unvaccinated.
ESPN Senior NFL insider Adam Schefter reports an agreement could be reached as soon as Tuesday.
The CDC updated its previous guidance on Monday to shorten the recommended isolation and quarantine period for the general population.
"Given what we currently know about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others," the CDC said in a Monday release.
The CDC said the change was motivated by "science demonstrating that the majority of transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after."
In the new recommendations, the CDC states that individuals who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for 5 days to minimize the risk of infecting others.
In mid-December, the league and union agreed to updated COVID protocols that re-mandated masks — regardless of vaccination status — and put limitations back in place on the numbers of individuals permitted in rooms. A day later, it was announced that three Week 15 games were postponed due to COVID outbreaks within teams.
Days after the Week 15 postponements, the league modified the COVID testing protocols. Unless a vaccinated player displays symptoms, the NFL will no longer require mandatory weekly testing for its vaccinated players. Unvaccinated players will still be required to test daily, though.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported on Dec.18. that roughly 2/3 of recent NFL cases are asymptomatic, and this week NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills said the league’s data shows asymptomatic individuals who are positive for COVID-19 have not been spreading the virus.
Check back with OutKick for updates.
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