Birx says college football players can get back on the field if they’re ‘ultra careful’

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Deborah Birx believes there is a “way forward” when it comes to college football this fall.

In a sit-down interview with Gray Television Washington Bureau Chief Jacqueline Policastro, Birx shared the message she says she gave Louisiana State University Coach Ed Orgeron.

“They can, as great coaches, coach their team members on what they need to do every day to protect themselves,” Birx said. “Because one slip means infection in the team.”

Birx also shared what football players should do in order to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

“When they travel, or when they’re in school, they need to do what I do,” Birx said. “I don’t come out of this mask. When I travel around the United States, I’ve not become COVID positive. I stay in hotels, I dine out, I do all the things that American people are doing. But I do them ultra-carefully.”

A number of college football conferences, like the Big Ten and PAC-12, have announced they will postpone their fall season. There are six conferences that have not yet made a decision: the SEC, the ACC, the Big 12, the Sun Belt Conference, the American Athletic Conference, and Conference USA.