Today In COVID-19 And The PGA Tour: Haas Positive, NBC/Comcast Accused Of "Ignoring Science"

Bill Haas became the 16th PGA Tour player to test positive for COVID-19 in advance of this week’s 2020 penultimate event, as announced by the Tour.

PGA TOUR Statement on Bill Haas

As part of the PGA TOUR's pre-tournament screening process this week at The RSM Classic, PGA TOUR member Bill Haas tested positive for COVID-19 and has been withdrawn from the event.
 
“It’s obviously disappointing news to receive, but my focus is now on recovery and ensuring the health and well-being of my family,” said Haas. 

Haas will have the PGA TOUR’s full support throughout his self-isolation under CDC guidelines. 

Meanwhile the union representing broadcast technicians issued high praise for CBS’s efforts to keep their team healthy and safe since the PGA Tour restart, but criticized Comcast’s NBC/Golf Channel unit for not requiring testing of workers at their televised events.

From the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which also implied negotiations have broken down over testing.

We spent months negotiating for recurring COVID testing for @NBCUniversal's motion picture and episodic television production workers.

You're telling us that @GolfChannel broadcast techs, who bounce between networks far more frequently, shouldn't get the same access to testing?

— IATSE (@IATSE) November 13, 2020

**From Deadline.com following up on the IATSE Tweet:

Said Justin Conway, the IATSE international rep who represents workers at the NBCUniversal-affiliated Golf Channel: “At least 10 crew members have reported contracting the virus, and as of this morning, there may be a few more. You don’t know until people are tested. Testing is our goal. With crews constantly traveling and coming into contact with players, other crew members, and event volunteers, we’re concerned that without proper testing protocols it’s a matter of time before a Golf Channel show turns into a spreader event.”

Noting that other major television networks covering golf and sports events have instituted testing for crews, the union says that the Golf Channel’s management “has been uncooperative in response to calls for tests to be made widely available for broadcast crewmembers.”

“These techs bounce between networks and tournaments frequently — in some cases more often than workers who produce scripted motion pictures and television shows under the NBCUniversal umbrella,” Conway said. “We believe it’s resulted in a situation where Golf Channel broadcast technicians are being treated as second-class citizens.”