How pro sports leagues are handling the latest coronavirus surge

The NFL, NBA and NHL have all updated their coronavirus protocols amid an uptick in cases among players and team officials. Here’s a look at the new policies in place in each league:

NFL

Amid surging coronavirus cases last week, the NFL significantly altered its protocols, changing how quickly vaccinated, asymptomatic players can return to their teams in the event they test positive, and how often such players are tested.

Under the new protocols, which were created after consultation with the NFL Players Association, a vaccinated player who is asymptomatic after testing positive for the virus can return to team activities with two negative tests that may be taken concurrently as soon as the next day.

Previously, a vaccinated player who remained symptom-free following a positive test needed two negative tests 24 hours apart to be cleared to return. Otherwise the player must remain in isolation for 10 days.

The NFL also changed its stance on weekly coronavirus testing. Vaccinated, asymptomatic players and team officials no longer must be tested once per week and instead will be subject to what the league called “strategic, targeted testing.” Unvaccinated players must still be tested daily, and if they test positive, they are required to isolate for at least 10 days and cannot test out of the protocols.

The new protocols also require all players and team officials to wear masks indoors at team facilities regardless of vaccination status; prohibit in-person team meetings held indoors; limit the number of players allowed in a team’s weight room at once; and add restrictions related to meals, team travel and gatherings and activities away from team facilities.

The NFL has declined to mandate vaccines or booster shots for its players, though it has encouraged players to get them.

NBA

The NBA also altered its coronavirus protocols last week. The new regulations call for increased mask usage and additional testing.

Players and coaches will have to wear masks for nearly all team activities when they are not actively playing: while traveling, when they are sitting on the bench or in the locker room, and during team meetings and training sessions. Head coaches will not have to wear masks during games.

Over a two-week period beginning Dec. 26, all players will be tested on game days, though people who received their booster shots at least 14 days earlier or have recently recovered from the virus will be exempt. Since Thanksgiving, several teams have implemented daily testing. Previously, fully vaccinated players generally only had to undergo daily testing if they were symptomatic, came into close contact with an individual who had tested positive or were required to test in compliance with local governmental guidelines.

To return to the court after entering the protocols, players must remain in isolation for 10 days or test negative twice on separate days. All players who enter the protocols must receive medical clearance from a team and league physician before they can rejoin their teams, and those who exhibit moderate or severe symptoms also must receive a cardiac screening.

The NBA has not mandated vaccines or booster shots for its players but has recommended them.

NHL

The NHL’s recently unveiled enhanced protocols resemble the ones used by the league during the 2020-21 season. They will last through the holiday season and apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated players.

All members of a team’s traveling party now will be tested daily instead of every third day, though they are not subject to testing on their days off or for 90 days after a positive test. The NHL has also temporarily suspended all games that require a team to cross the U.S.-Canada border.

The mandatory isolation period for a player who tests positive depends on where the test was administered. If the player tests positive in Canada, the Canadian government requires a 14-day isolation. If a player tests positive in the United States and does not have symptoms, he can return after two consecutive negative tests. If a player tests positive and displays symptoms, he must isolate for 10 days, starting from the day that symptoms first appeared.

Masks now must be worn at all times inside team facilities and during travel, including when on buses and planes and at hotels (unless exercising, participating in a game or eating or drinking). Players are prohibited from eating or drinking in indoor restaurants and bars that are open to the public, except in a private room or in a cordoned-off area.

Like the NFL and NBA, the NHL has not mandated that its players receive a vaccine or booster shot, instead encouraging them to do so.