Dr. Fauci: NFL season depends on testing, preparedness against coronavirus

Dr. Anthony Fauci believes that there could be players on the field and fans in stadiums for NFL games in the fall, but also there could not be.

In an interview with Peter King of ProFootballTalk, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House task force on the coronavirus, said that he could see having players, who have tested negative for the virus, play in games, and even have fans in stadiums where the community has a low rate of cases.

But just as easily Fauci could see not having a season, if things stay as they are now.

“Right now, if you fast forward, and it is now September,” he said in the interview. “The season starts. I say you can’t have a season — it’s impossible. There’s too much infection out there. It doesn’t matter what you do. But I would hope that by the time you get to September it’s not gonna be the way it is right now.”

The NFL has some time on its side. King explained in the column that the NFL season could happen in the fall because of three factors: more testing, better preparedness and the prospect that more people will be immune to the coronavirus after having been infected.

Testing is key to helping determine whether players could play. With those that test negative for the virus being allowed to hit the field, while those with positive tests being quarantined for two weeks.

And the tests would have to happen often.

“If I test today, and I’m negative, you don’t know if I got exposed tomorrow … There’s no guarantee that you’re going to get exposed and be positive the next day,” Fauci said, explaining how he was exposed to a person who tested positive in the White House. He said he tested negative.

Fauci said there could be a second wave in the fall, but we as a nation should be better prepared to handle it with more tests, contact tracing and isolation to control an outbreak, but “shame on us if we don’t have in place all of the mechanisms to prevent it from blowing up again.”

Whether there are sports seasons in the fall, Fauci said, “It is uncertain. You’ll have to play it by ear according to the level of infection in the community.”