BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns organization is reopening its facilities Sunday after operations were halted due to COVID-19 testing irregularities.
Officials with the National Football League received " several positive tests from each of the clubs services by the same laboratory in New Jersey," during Saturday's daily COVID-19 testing.
In response to the news, a spokesperson with the Browns organization responded saying, "out of an abundance of caution, we will immediately follow our comprehensive Infectious Disease Emergency Response plan and pause any activity in our building today and conduct meetings virtually."
That decision was reversed Sunday afternoon after the players, coaches and staff that tested positive within the Browns organization were re-tested and the results came back negative.
“We’ve concluded our re-testing of each initial presumptive positive result from yesterday among players, coaches and staff. All have come back as negative, which is consistent with the irregularities across the league from multiple teams," a statement read.
The facility will resume activities as planned. However, per protocol, "the individuals with test results in question may not re-enter the building until they receive another negative test result tomorrow."
Since the Browns returned to camp in July, the team has seen consistent "encouraging results," according to a statement.
The NFL continues to work with the lab to either confirm or rule out the results for other teams, but in the meantime, immediate precautionary measures are still being taken.