WASHINGTON — The Washington Football Team will not let fans into FedEx Field for its upcoming home game against the Cincinnati Bengals due to the continued impacts of COVID-19, according to the team in a statement issued Monday.
The statement said that the decision is in part due to guidance from health officials in Prince George's County, where FedEx Field is located in Landover, Maryland.
At the end of October, Washington announced that it would start to let fans come to games. The new announcement, however, comes after just one game with about 3,000 fans in the stands -- an NFC East divisional game last week against the New York Giants.
Maryland is now averaging more than 1,700 new cases a day, and the Department of Health said last week that one of the big drivers of that number has been new cases in people under the age of 30. Unlike earlier in the pandemic, they’re also seeing hospitalizations in that age group rise significantly as well.
Gov. Hogan responded last week to the increasing cases by tightening statewide restrictions, including reducing indoor dining capacities, expanding travel advisories and strongly advising against indoor gatherings with more than 25 people.
See the team's full statement below:
“The Washington Football Team has been continuously monitoring the evolving health situation in the DMV region. After careful consideration and working in close coordination with health officials in Prince George’s County, we have decided that this Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals will be played without fans in attendance. We take the responsibility of protecting our staff, players, fans, and the community seriously and feel this is the right decision at this time. “
The announcement by Washington on Monday came roughly an hour after the Baltimore Ravens also said it would go without fans at its stadium.
Over the weekend, the United States surpassed 11 million confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Many college football games this past weekend were canceled because of the spread of COVID-19, including the Maryland Terps game against Ohio State.