Chiefs release statement after fan who attended opener tests positive for COVID-19

Positive tests are to be expected with fans at Arrowhead Stadium and the Chiefs have their first case after Week 1.

The Kansas City Chiefs have released a statement following the City of Kansas City, Mo., Health Department’s announcement that a fan who attended the Week 1 season opener against the Houston Texans has tested positive for COVID-19. That fan has since been asked to isolate. 10 people who had close contact with the individual have also been asked to isolate.

As of this morning, the Chiefs and Texans both had no positive tests among players and coaches, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Find the full statement from the team below:

“As the City of Kansas City Health Department has reported, a guest who attended Thursday night’s game at Arrowhead Stadium has presented positive for COVID-19. We have worked in close cooperation with Dr. Rex Archer and the Kansas City Health Department to provide all of the relevant information available.

The contact tracing mechanisms that the club has in place, including parking and ticket scanning data, as well as video record review, indicate that the individual who has presented positive and the individual’s party entered the stadium in compliance with mask mandates. This process allowed the team to identify the other guests sitting with this individual, the service staff with whom this individual may have come in contact with, as well as any other ticket holders near this person at the time of entry into the stadium. Within hours of being notified, the Chiefs were able to pinpoint the names of the other members of the party as well as detailed information about the path and location of entry, and this information was provided to the Health Department. The tracing capabilities at the stadium allow the extension of communication to learn more about the guest’s activity the days leading up to and after the game Thursday night.

The individual and the individual’s group were seated in the lower level of the stadium. By design, the stadium’s COVID protocol plan limited potential exposure to a single seating zone within the stadium. All staff with known interactions with the positive case were required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), including a mask. Additionally, the protocols in place at the stadium require all attendees to be wearing masks inside the stadium.

Compliance with the protocols remains a key component to making this plan effective. We appreciate the professionalism and diligence of the Health Department and will continue to support its efforts in this matter and throughout the season.”

From a statistical standpoint, positive tests were always going to happen with fans at Arrowhead Stadium. The trick is having the mechanisms in place to minimize the spread of the virus and the Chiefs appear to have that with their prompt action and coordination with the health department.

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