LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles County public health officials have updated their protocols to prevent the Dodgers from playing this season under a significant disadvantage from the rest of the league.
Local officials previously mandated that anyone who came in close contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 must quarantine for a minimum of 14 days, but a revision allows professional sports teams to implement a "modified" quarantine "only for asymptomatic essential players and staff."
The L.A. County public health website now stipulates that those who come in contact with someone who has coronavirus can still take part in team-related activities as long as they are asymptomatic, quarantine at their residence, wear a medical-grade facemask when not on the field and test negative in a PCR test that must be administered daily for a stretch of two weeks.
Those individuals can also travel and play in road games so long as they fly in private charters and essentially remain at the hotel when not at the ballpark.
The concessions are similar to those made by health officials in Washington, D.C., where the Nationals were at one point exploring the possibility of an alternate site to combat stricter quarantine mandates.
L.A. County officials said organizations who implement the modified quarantine "must publicly acknowledge the risk they are accepting on behalf of their employees and sporting event staff. Testing, regardless of frequency, is not a replacement for quarantine of close contact to individuals diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19."
The Los Angeles Angels play in Orange County and were not covered by the L.A. County mandate.