Some Tarrant County Residents With COVID-19 Tell Contact Tracers They Had Attended Cowboys Home Games
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - At least eight Tarrant County residents who tested positive for COVID-19 told contact tracers they had attended Dallas Cowboys home games within the last month and a half, health officials said Wednesday.
Officials with Tarrant County Public Health told CBS 11 News that this doesn't mean the individuals were exposed at the games, but rather this was the result of contact tracing protocols. Officials said the exposure to the virus could have happened before or after the games.
While the individuals were not identified, health officials said which games they had reported attending: One on Oct. 4 (vs. Browns), three on Oct. 11 (vs. Giants), three on Oct. 19 (vs. Cardinals) and one on Nov. 8 (vs. Steelers).
Health officials said fewer than 50% respond to contact tracing calls.
The Cowboys have been one of 19 NFL teams that have hosted fans during the season, and owner Jerry Jones said earlier this week that he wants to build on that.
"My plan was to increase our fans as we went through the season, and move those numbers up, and we followed that plan," Jones told 105.3 The Fan.
He also touted the team's attendance numbers compared to the rest of the league during the pandemic. "We've had almost a third of the attendance in the NFL. I'm proud of that. Our stadium is particularly suited for airiness, openness, air circulation. I'm very proud of the fact that we do it safely, we do it smartly," he said.
Because of rising COVID-19 cases recently, the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Football Team and the Philadelphia Eagles have decided they won't host fans at their next home game.
Jones said, "I see a continued aggressive approach to having fans out there. And that's not being insensitive to the fact that we got our COVID and outbreak. Some people will say it is, but not when you're doing it as safe as we are and not when we're having the results we're having. Literally, we have had no one report that they've had gotten any contact with COVID from coming to our football game."
