Dolphins Hire Infectious Disease Specialist on Medical Staff amid Pandemic

The Miami Dolphins will have at least one additional member on their staff during a 2020 season that will take place amid the COVID-19 pandemic if play goes ahead as scheduled.

According to Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post, the AFC East team hired an infectious disease specialist from Baptist Health as part of the medical staff.

"We've tried to think outside the box in all areas," head coach Brian Flores said.

Habib explained the Dolphins are using two locker rooms featuring Plexiglas barriers, meeting rooms with capacity cut in half, modified food service and an altered weight room.

"As a staff, as an organization, we've combed through the CDC and the NFL facility guidelines," Flores continued. "And what we've done is we've thought to ourselves, 'What can we do to go above what those guidelines are?' We understand—I understand—players are going to be on high alert when they get here, if they get here, and we just want to put them at ease."

Despite all these changes, or perhaps because of them, Flores said he is still "cautiously optimistic" there will be a season.

The NFL, unlike the NBA, MLB, MLS and NHL, did not have to make any adjustments to its regular-season schedule in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States given the timing. While March was a busy month for those other sports, the NFL is not slated to start until September.

However, there have been rising numbers across many areas of the country throughout the summer, necessitating these changes and bringing football's immediate future into question.

As of Tuesday, there have been more than 3.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States alone, which is the most of any country. Florida has been a particular hotbed, and Habib noted the state reported 9,194 new cases Tuesday.

That is the backdrop for the Dolphins as they make these changes and bring an infectious disease specialist aboard. 

"Our goal is to make sure our facility is a place where the players feel safe," Flores said.

Miami is scheduled to start its season on Sept. 13 against the New England Patriots.