Washington NFL Team Reports First COVID-19 Case

Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera, center, crossing his arms as he waits for game action to resume during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Landover, Md. Al Drago/AP

The New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders put players on the NFL’s COVID-19 list Tuesday, while Washington had its first instance of someone in the organization testing positive for the coronavirus since the season began.

Washington’s positive test result was the team’s first since July. A person with direct knowledge of the situation said the player who tested positive did not travel with Washington for its game at Detroit last weekend. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not release specific details about the positive case.

Ioannidis has been on injured reserve since Sept. 29.

The Giants and Washington were notified of their respective positive test results Monday night. The players self-isolated, and contact tracing began.

Washington, which is set to host Cincinnati on Sunday, was one of the few teams that hadn’t had a positive and is now in the NFL’s intensive protocols. Meetings will be conducted virtually this week, and the practice facility will only be open to staff with limited access for players.

Asked last week about his team getting through the first nine weeks of the season without someone testing positive for the virus, Washington coach Ron Rivera jokingly called that a jinx. He credited senior director of player development Malcolm Blacken for reminding guys of their responsibilities during the pandemic.

“When you have a guy who’s constantly (saying): ‘Hey guys, don’t forget we have this. Hey guys, don’t forget we have that,’ there’s that constant reminder,” Rivera said. “I think, for whatever reason, our guys have been very diligent about it, which we really do appreciate.”

Washington announced Monday no fans will be allowed for the Bengals game after hosting 3,000 on Nov. 8 against the Giants. FedEx Field is in Landover, Maryland, and the nearby Baltimore Ravens also took the step of barring fans for their next game as cases spike around the U.S.

There have been 19 teams that have had fans at games this season.

“We have been tracking case trends at the local and state level with public officials and no local case clusters have been reported or traced back to NFL games,” spokesman Brian McCarthy said.