The rising corona numbers force the NFL to act: Everyone in the 32 Facilities must now once again wear a mouth-nose protection – regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not.

New York/Munich – More than 100 NFL players have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent days.

The rising number of cases is now forcing the league and its 32 teams to take action: As a first measure, the wearing of a mask, even for vaccinated players and coaches, will become mandatory again.

Corona and the NFL: mandatory masks for all in Facilities

“Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to adjust our protocols to ensure our goal – the safety of players, coaches and support staff,” reads a statement from the NFL.

NFL statement on adjusted COVID-19 protocols. pic.twitter.com/zz6LA9GfXM

– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 16, 2021

The reintroduction of mandatory masks in all areas of Facilities is necessary in the wake of rising caseloads and in view of the omicron variant, the statement added. Meetings are to be held only in the open or virtually, communal eating on site is no longer permitted, and the same applies to visits by outsiders during team trips.

“Furthermore, we recommend booster vaccination as the most effective protection against the virus at present,” the letter concludes. Further adjustments to the guidelines are not ruled out, it adds: “All of these changes follow a data-driven and scientific approach. The safety of the entire NFL community is our No. 1 goal. “

Physician chief warns: pandemic like this not yet experienced

“We are now entering a new phase of the pandemic that we have not experienced before,” Dr Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, warned forcefully on Wednesday. “We cannot apply the solutions of 2020 to the pressing problems of 2021.”

As Sills described it, the conditions in the teams’ facilities in particular have changed: For example, players and support staff are now more likely to infect each other, with the omicron variant also contributing to this.

A problem that is no less alarming is the decline in vaccination protection, which the NFL was able to prove in its own study of more than 500 employees. However, with the help of booster vaccinations, this trend could be quickly corrected.

“At a certain point, you think you’re fighting a ghost,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank noted soberly. “You don’t know where to hit. “