In a positive step towards the return of football, the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars join clubs around the league in a phased re-opening of its facilities.
Per the NFL’s protocol for the reopening of club facilities, the Jaguars saw staff return to the offices at TIAA Bank Field and have established an infectious Response Team (IRT), which consists of team leadership, medical personnel and employees from the security, operations and legal departments.
The Jaguars’ IRT is responsible for the implementation of a screening process, which requires employees to complete a training exercise and questionnaire and undergo multiple temperature checks.
The protocols include the following:
- A maximum of 75 employees, but no more than 50 percent of the team’s football staff, is permitted to be on site at TIAA Bank Field beginning on May 26.
- This group includes personnel from football operations, strength and conditioning, athletic training, equipment, facility management and technology.
- Between now and May 26, the team is finalizing and testing its safety protocols before admitting new employees. The safety protocols include adding additional signage, education about respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene, ensuring social distancing where possible, placing markings on the floor to help with social distancing, and implementing a process to audit cleaning protocols.
- All employees that return to the facility will do so on a voluntary basis, as long as they are comfortable returning to the stadium.
- Masks must be worn in the stadium by all employees unless they are alone in their offices. For those employees that work in close proximity to others, the team’s IRT has been working to construct a strategic entry plan to maintain proper social distancing and will institute a rotational work schedule based on office location and timing.
- Protocol for how the team would respond to a situation where someone tests positive for COVID-19 or experiences related-symptoms has been created by the club’s IRT and will be handled in a diligent manner.
Coaches and players, besides those players currently undergoing medical rehabilitation, are not permitted to be at the club facility at this time. In addition, to maintain the integrity of the team’s safety procedures, all non-employee visitors are also not permitted at TIAA Bank Field at this time.
