COVID-19 protocols in the National Football League appear to be done finally.
On Thursday, the National Football League and the National Football League Player's Association agreed to suspend all aspects of the joint COVID-19 Protocols immediately.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the news.
In a memo sent to teams, the league said the decision was based on declining COVID-19 rates, the sports outlets reported.
The end of the protocol means no more mandatory testing, and masks are no longer required at team facilities.
The league said tests will occur only “when clinically indicated or at the direction of a club physician.”
Teams are still expected to keep some testing equipment at their facilities but can remove the testing trailers.
The NFL also added that players and staff would no longer need to wear Kinexon's SafeZone tag, which they used to monitor social distancing and for contact tracing, CNBC reported.
The league also removed limits on weight rooms and other gathering areas.
According to Pelissero, since the NFL implemented the protocols two years ago, not one NFL game, 554 total games plus two Super Bowls, was lost to the pandemic.
