The 77 false positives created because of a lab error by one of the NFL’s testing partners over the weekend grabbed the headlines. But the NFL offered good news overall in its testing results.
The NFL administered 58,397 tests during the period of Aug. 12-20, including 23,260 to players. Players generated zero positive tests, while other personnel had six new confirmed positives, according to the league.
During the period, players and Tier 1 and 2 personnel were tested daily. Tier 3 individuals were tested weekly.
That follows monitoring testing through Aug. 11 when 109,075 total tests were conducted with a positivity rate of 0.46.
Only two players remain on the reserve/COVID-19 list as of Monday.
“Overall, our testing program has worked extremely well, and to me the most important thing, you’ve gotten through four weeks thus far without any of our clubs having a major outbreak,” Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, said during a conference call Monday. “Certainly, it’s far too early to celebrate that, but I do think that we should acknowledge that our clubs have done a terrific job -- players, coaches, staff -- at following our protocols, and I think our protocols are working.”
