College football teams unveil helmet with splash guards to protect players from COVID-19

| American Football | 08/05/2020

With four of the five Power Five conferences announcing amended college football schedules, it seems there is hope for a college football season. Adding to that hope is the unveiling of a new COVID-19 helmet by LSU and Texas.

Both schools showed off helmets incorporating guards on the front of football helmets designed to protect players from the droplets that pass the coronavirus from person to person.

The plastic guard essentially is the normal football visor that is extended to the bottom of the face mask.

As college football works out a plan to get athletes on the field safely.

The teams’ equipment departments posted them on Twitter.

The NCAA released guidelines last week on how teams should manage practices during the pandemic. Players who test positive will be quarantined for 10 days, and others who have been in “high risk contact” with those players must be quarantined for 14 days. The NCAA defines “high risk” contact as being within six feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes in which one or more individuals are not wearing masks. Splash guards will qualify as acceptable face coverings, according to the NCAA, during instances where normal face coverings inhibit the ability to perform. The NCAA also suggests that teams practice in functional units of 5-10 players to limit close contact for prolonged periods of time.

Medical experts have said that wearing a mask can drastically cut down on the spread of COVID-19 if everybody wears them for four-to-six weeks.

Source: CBS Sports

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