NFL Wrestles With Abundance of False Positives

77 players have been re-examined and came back negative
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 24, 2020 12:03 AM CDT
77 Apparently False Positives Among NFL Virus Tests
In this Nov. 4, 2018 file photo, the NFL logo is displayed on the field at the Bank of American Stadium before an NFL football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, NC.   (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)

The NFL had 77 positive COVID-19 tests from 11 teams re-examined by a New Jersey lab after false positives, and all those tests came back negative, the AP reports. The league asked the New Jersey lab BioReference to investigate the results, and those 77 tests are being re-tested once more to make sure they were false positives. Among teams reporting false positives, the Minnesota Vikings said they had 12, the New York Jets 10, and the Chicago Bears nine. The Jets canceled a walk-through Saturday night but had a full practice Sunday morning after the previously positive tests came back negative. The Bears moved their practice scheduled for Sunday morning to the afternoon.

The Detroit Lions had a player with a false positive test from the same lab in New Jersey and he was held out of practice Sunday, a league source told the AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league and team were not disclosing test results. The Pittsburgh Steelers said they had six false positives and those players will be back at practice Monday. The Philadelphia Eagles held four players from working out Sunday. The Cleveland Browns initially canceled practice, but after re-testing turned up negative tests they decided to have their workout. There are five labs nationwide that service the 32 teams, with only the New Jersey facility having the false positives this weekend. Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said tests in the Northeast had gone “haywire,” and called it “a lab issue and not a true issue with our guys currently” after several Bills were held out of practice.

(More coronavirus stories.)

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