The National Football League has confirmed that if fans are allowed entry into football stadiums this season, they will have to wear face masks or coverings.

Brian McCarthy, the league’s vice president of communications, posted the message on Twitter.

There is no leaguewide policy yet on whether to allow fans at games, as each NFL team has the right to make that decision based on local mandates.

Several teams, though, have already made it clear that fans won’t be allowed into stadiums.

Both the New York Jets and Giants have announced that there would be no spectators for their home games at MetLife Stadium “until further notice.”

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently issued a directive limiting the number of people who could attend outdoor gatherings in the state to 500.

“My administration has been working in close coordination with professional sports and college teams to determine how to proceed safely with games at their stadiums amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Murphy said in a statement.

“While we look forward to the day we can return to games as normal and cheer from the stands, continued concerns for the health and safety of fans, team members and staff dictates that our executive order limiting outdoor gatherings does apply to sporting events, including training camp.”

The Jets’ regular-season home opener is scheduled for September 20 against the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants are slated to host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, September 14.

As for other NFL clubs, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis has stated that there is a real possibility that fans won’t be able to attend games at Las Vegas’ new Allegiant Stadium this season.

The Los Angeles Rams echoed similar sentiment by announcing that the new SoFi Stadium will be “at limited or no capacity” this season.

Last week, Philadelphia city officials declared that no fans would be allowed to watch Eagles games in person this season, but a day later, the mayor’s office opened up the possibility that fans could be in the stands at some point.

Several other teams are looking at plans that adhere to limited stadium capacities with social distancing protocols that include the use of face masks and coverings.

Officials for AMB Sports and Entertainment, which oversees operations of the 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium, have stated that they are preparing to host between 10,000 and 20,000 fans at Atlanta Falcons home games.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.