UNDATED (AP) — The NFL has suspended all aspects of its COVID-19 protocols, citing recent trends showing that the spread of the coronavirus is declining.
The league is also eliminating social distancing requirements and mandatory testing of players and staff, regardless of vaccination status. Should the NFL find reasons to reimpose any aspects of the protocols, it will do so in conjunction with the NFL Players Association.
The NHL previously dropped virus testing for individuals without symptoms and other distancing protocols. The NBA hasn’t changed its protocols.
In other virus-related news:
— Over a hundred minor league baseball and more than a dozen minor league hockey teams are hoping to get COVID-19 relief from the U.S. government to offset millions of dollars of losses from the pandemic. Minor league sports teams and their facilities were left out of the first round of small business subsidies. Most had to rely on Paycheck Protection Program loans to keep staffs together. An influx of funds from a bill that could go through Congress as soon as next week would allow teams to hire more people, pay back debts and dig out of the hole they are in after the past two years.
