Could the COVID-19 list of NFL players who have (or have had) the novel coronavirus drop to ZERO?!
New reports suggest that will be the case.
A few weeks ago, it was major news that 77 players from across 11 NFL teams tested POSITIVE for COVID-19.
Now, after a second test, all 77 of those same players tested NEGATIVE.
The NFL has issued a statement clarifying that the first results were likely false positives.
The second results, which show all 77 players testing negative, are likely more accurate.
More details on this stunning development below:
Of course, it's better safe than sorry.
But if 77 players from 11 different NFL teams all received false positives, it raises the question: how many more false positives are out there?
If the players had not been tested a second time, the results error might never have been caught!
Yahoo Sports confirms the botched testing results:
A major issue with a New Jersey lab processing coronavirus test results for the NFL was revealed on Sunday after retesting was done on the previously reported 77 positive results. It now appears that all were false positives after each of the 77 people were retested and received a negative result, according to multiple reports.
Earlier Sunday, several NFL teams said they would alter or cancel workouts Sunday after the positive tests were reported. The league said it was investigating the results after the high number resulted from one processing lab.
The NFL said it would take “immediate precautionary measures as outlined in the NFL and NFLPA’s health and safety protocols.”
It still appears that NFL coronavirus numbers were getting smaller. On Saturday, four players were listed on the COVID-19 list.
The Chicago Bears, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers each reported a large number of positive results from testing done by the New Jersey lab in question.
The Cleveland Browns did not reveal how many members of the organization were affected by the issue, but reopened their facilities once the lab issue was revealed.
When people (usually radical liberals) say "trust science," do they take cases like this into account?
Science is not perfect.
Science is not God.
There will be mistakes everywhere that we look because we are all human!
The issue with false alarms is that you cannot undo the panic.
Chances are that when the initial reports came out about 77 players from 11 teams testing negative, that contributed to the public hysteria over the virus.
The reality, though, is that those tests were likely botched.
CBS Sports is reporting that the samples were "contaminated":
The NFL went through one of its biggest COVID-19 scares of training camp after there were 77 positive tests that came about on Saturday. Upon further examination for this spike, however, it was revealed that these were false-positives as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports that all of the original tests were rerun on Sunday night and each of them came back negative for the coronavirus. Those 77 individuals also underwent additional testing and all of those tests came back negative as well.
On Monday, Jon R. Cohen, M.D., the Executive Chairman of BioReference Laboratories, the testing partner of the NFL, released a statement explaining that these false-positives were due to an isolated contamination in the New Jersey lab.
"On August 22, BioReference Laboratories reported an elevated number of positive COVID-19 PCR test results for NFL players and personnel at multiple clubs. The NFL immediately took necessary actions to ensure the safety of the players and personnel. Our investigation indicated that these were most likely false positive results, caused by an isolated contamination during test preparation in the New Jersey laboratory. Reagents, analyzers and staff were all ruled out as possible causes and subsequent testing has indicated that the issue has been resolved. All individuals impacted have been confirmed negative and informed."
Several NFL clubs altered their training camp schedules due to this scare, including the Cleveland Browns, who closed the facility for a brief period of time on Sunday, underwent a thorough deep-cleaning and disinfection before opening it back up later that afternoon. The Bears and Patriots were some of the other clubs that dealt with false-positive COVID-19 test results over the weekend.
If everyone who got a test across America got tested a second time, how many of those results would be revealed to be false positives?
This really raises an issue as to the accuracy of our numbers!
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