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COVID-19 testing is not perfect, and today the NFL is faced with the question of what to do if a sudden, sharp increase in positive tests is more likely to be the result of a lab error than an actual outbreak.
The league reported today that one lab it uses reports many positive tests, while all other labs that use the league report no positive tests.
“Saturday’s daily COVID tests have returned several positive tests from each of the clubs served by the same lab in New Jersey,” the league said in a statement. “We are working with our test partner, BioReference, to investigate these results, while the clubs are working to confirm or rule out the positive tests. Clubs take immediate precautionary measures as set forth in the NFL-NFLPA Health and Safety Protocols to track contact, isolate individuals, and temporarily adjust the schedule, as appropriate. The other labs used for NFL testing did not have similar results. ”
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was initially placed on the reserve / COVID-19 test over what he and the Lions later said was a false positive. This statement sounds like the league suspected it had a lot of false positions. If a label error like this happened during the regular season, it could result in many healthy players having to be sidelined, or games canceled. It’s one of the many potential problems for the league as it tries to play a season in a pandemic.
