A fan who attended the Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium tested positive for COVID-19, Kansas City Health officials reported.
The Chiefs confirmed Thursday the club has worked in cooperation with the health department to provide relevant information, including contact tracing to know any and all patrons and workers with which the individual might have interacted.
"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," the Chiefs' statement read. "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."
The K.C. Health Department announced it informed 10 fans to quarantine after possibly being exposed to COVID-19 last Thursday.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported on NFL NOW that from the league's perspective positive cases are to be expected while the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
The Chiefs had roughly 16,000 fans in attendance for last Thursday's season opener versus the Houston Texans. Denver and Jacksonville were the only other teams to allow fans for the opening week's slate.
Thursday night, the Cleveland Browns will allow 6,000 fans to attend the game versus the Cincinnati Bengals. The Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts are also expected to have fans in attendance this week at significantly reduced capacities.
