Bears shut down facilities after player tests positive for COVID

The Bears have become the third NFL team Thursday to announce a case of COVID, shutting down team facilities after a player tested positive.

"Today's practice has been canceled and all meetings will be conducted virtually," the team said. "The player who tested positive and all close contacts have been contacted and have already begun self-isolation."

The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts also announced they had positive tests, though the Colts planned to still have practice as it was a member of the staff who has coronavirus, not a player. Broncos general manager John Elway and CEO Joe Ellis tested positive earlier this week, but the team is "confident the transmissions originated from outside the building," which would hopefully mean none of the players or staff have contracted COVID-19 as well.

The Bears are scheduled to play the Tennesse Titans on Sunday, and so far that game has not been moved or canceled. The Titans are familiar with COVID, as they were the first team to have a real outbreak this season. Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel said his team would continue to prepare as though the game is still on until told otherwise by the league.

"We've been through this," Vrabel told reporters. "We'll continue to prepare like as if we're playing on Sunday until we hear otherwise. I can't speculate on what happened or didn't happen."

At this point, the NFL has succeeded in keeping the schedule intact despite a new team having a case almost every week. But if this continues, it may only be a matter of time before the next outbreak occurs.