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The PGA Tour updated its health and safety protocols on Wednesday night and will now allow players who continue to test positive for coronavirus can return to action if they have met certain CDC guidelines.
On the surface, allowing players who continue test positive into the tournament’s field and interacting with other players, caddies and staff seems extremely questionable, but the Tour is simply cooperating with the CDC, there’s not anything it can or should do other than that.
The changes to its health and safety protocols are in accordance with the CDC’s Return to Work guidelines, specifically a symptom-based model.
The criteria players and caddies have to meet to return to action are as follows, per GOLF: At least three days (72 hours) have passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in respiratory symptoms) and at least 10 days removed from when symptoms first appeared.
This week, Nick Watney, Denny McCarthy, and Dylan Frittelli meet said criteria after testing positive in weeks past hence why the three have been paired together for the opening two rounds of the Workday Charity Open. The Tour is only pairing players that continue to test positive but meet the criteria together or as a single. Jason Day played as a single two weeks ago at the Travelers out of caution after requesting a test ahead of the third round.
The Tour is doing everything in its power to keep players, caddies, and all involved healthy. Positive tests are inevitable, but all the Tour can do is follow CDC work guidelines just as other organizations and businesses around the world are doing.
Studies have determined that the virus may no longer be present, but people can still test positive without being contagious.
There still remains to be far more uncertainties than certainties when it comes to the virus at this point, but you have to tip your cap to the Tour for accomplishing what it has thus far since its restart over a month ago.
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Mark is an associate editor at BroBible. Follow him on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris for the occasional good tweet. Feel free to contact him at Mark@BroBible.com.