Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings Shut Down Facilities After First NFL COVID-19 Outbreak

Three Titans players and five personnel tested positive, according to a report

Tennessee Titans v Minnesota Vikings
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Update 9/30: Sunday night’s game between the Tennessee Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers has been postponed, ESPN is reporting, but the league is considering several options for rescheduling the game, including as early as Monday, with decisions made based on test results. The original story is below.

Both the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings have suspended in-person club activities and shut down their team facilities after an outbreak of COVID-19, the first to hit the NFL as the league goes into Week 4 of the 2020 season.

Three Titans players and five Titans personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to a report from NFL.com reporter Tom Pelissero. The Vikings, who played the Titans on Sunday in Minneapolis and did so with some fans in attendance, have not had any positive tests but will also shut down their facilities.

The NFL and NFL Players Association said in a joint statement that both clubs are working closely with the league and union “to evaluate close contacts, perform additional testing and monitor developments.”

“All decisions will be made with health and safety as our primary consideration. We will continue to share updates as more information becomes available,” the NFL and NFL-PA said jointly.

Last week, a player on the Atlanta Falcons tested positive for COVID-19, but the team was still able to play their game on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

The Titans for week 4 are meant to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Tennessee, and the Vikings are meant to travel to play the Houston Texans. It’s not clear whether either of those games are in jeopardy at this time.

Major League Baseball was forced to suspend the operations for days of the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals after team outbreaks infected multiple players with COVID-19, and the teams, both of whom ultimately made the postseason, were forced to play multiple double header games throughout the season to make up the lost time. The NFL has built in additional weeks at the end of the regular season schedule to allow for makeup games should any games get postponed.

See the statement from the NFL below:

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