On Thursday, President Donald Trump evoked a new image of what a return to normal should look like after social distancing programs put in place to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus come to an end.
That image has been on the minds of many within the state for weeks now.
“Our normal is if you have 100,000 at an Alabama football game, or a 110,000 to be exact,” Trump said. “We want every seat occupied. Normal is not going to be a game where you have 50,000 people.”
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith asked Alabama coach Nick Saban how the public should feel with regards to player safety if schools are not permitted to have fans attend games in the fall.
“It’s a hypothetical circumstance or situation to make predictions about what is going to happen in the fall, but look, we would never want our players to be put in a situation where they are not going to be safe,” Saban said. “But I do think if we come up with some solutions, we will be able to manage smaller groups. Like for instance, we could test all of our players, and then we could have some protocol for every day that they come in the building as to whether they are healthy or going to infect somebody else.”
That level of control and monitoring can’t extend to fans that would attend Bryant-Denny Stadium. Saban didn’t offer a formal opinion on fan attendance during the interview, but he did briefly look ahead to the future.
“There has to be some plan at some point in time to try and get people back to normal, and I know that’s going to be a difficult transition for us,” Saban said.
To that end, Trump has posted guidelines for states and local communities that are ready to begin reopening.
Before beginning phase one, states or regions must satisfy the following conditions:
- A clear downward trajectory of both influenza and covid-like cases reported within 14 days
- A 14-day downward trajectory of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus over the same period OR a similar trend with the percentage of positive tests for the virus (Note: The number of overall tests must increase or remain flat during this period).
- Finally, hospitals in the area must be capable of treating all patients without crisis care AND have a robust testing program in place for at-risk healthcare workers.
In phase one, movie theaters, restaurants and sporting venues are all examples of local businesses that can open if strict physical distance protocols remain in place. Places of worship can also resume meeting if members keep their distance from one another.
On Thursday, Trump seemed confident that some states could begin this process shortly. On Tuesday, Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox said he would present a plan to reopen the city on April 28.
Trump’s plan seems to suggest that Bryant-Denny Stadium could host something close to the normal amount of fans this fall if Alabama progresses to phase three by September. For states to progress from one phase to the next, they must satisfy the same criteria they did before beginning phase one.
This method helps ensure that the virus isn’t rebounding in communities as social distancing programs come to an end.
“This is a different time for all of us, so it’s a difficult adjustment,” Saban said, referring to current circumstances. “So I think staying positive and staying focused on what you can control is the most important thing.”
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Andrew Bone, of BamaInsider.com, is a real estate broker in the state of Alabama.
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