After a reported 77 COVID-19 tests from 11 NFL teams returned false positive results over the weekend, concerns are heightened over the league’s testing procedures just before the start of the regular season. The Patriots, who will play the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13, were one of the teams impacted, a source told The Athletic’s Jeff Howe.
Several players were not present at Sunday’s practice. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick discussed the situation Monday morning when asked whether the incident impacted his thinking or decision-making.
“I think that’s a question to ask the league about the process,” Belichick said at a pre-practice press conference. “We don’t have anything to do with that. The testing is done by somebody else, it’s analyzed by somebody else. All we get are the results. How all that works, that’s something you really should redirect to them.”
Belichick added that if any concerns arise, the team will adjust accordingly.
“From our standpoint, I think we’re doing the right things,” Belichick continued. “We continue to make adjustments and modifications in what we’re doing, but I’m confident that we’re doing the best that we can and when we find ways to improve it, then we’ve addressed that and we’ve done that since we came back to the stadium, whatever it was, three weeks ago. So, if we see something that we feel like needs to be upgraded, needs to be changed, needs to be improved, needs to be addressed because it’s not being done properly, then we’ve done that I’d say on a pretty regular basis and we’ll continue to do that.”
Bill Belichick Live Press Conference 8/24: https://t.co/M4tIf8a6eZ
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 24, 2020
After receiving the positive test results on Saturday, the NFL had the samples re-tested at the same laboratory, BioReference, in New Jersey.
“Our investigation indicated that these were most likely false positive results, caused by an isolated contamination during test preparation in the New Jersey laboratory,” Dr. Jon R. Cohen, the laboratory’s executive chairman, said in a statement Monday.
“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.”
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