Wests Tigers veteran Chris Lawrence is taking no risks with social distancing as the resumption of the NRL season draws closer.
Lawrence, along with another 799 NRL players and club staff, were on Monday educated on the strict biosecurity measures designed to resume the season.
The protocols include a household risk assessment, which would determine whether players would be at risk of a COVID-19 outbreak.
Lawrence’s wife Kathryn is a school teacher, a fact that had to be registered with the coronavirus cop assigned to each club for their return this week.
But, according to the league’s guidelines, Lawrence won’t have to move out of his home.
“She’s got to go to work to provide an essential service,” Lawrence told AAP.
“But I’ve got to be diligent.
“If she comes home unwell, I try to keep my distance as much as possible until her symptoms go down.”
According to the protocols, players will be instructed to immediately notify club doctors if anyone in their household shows any symptoms of the virus.
They’re one of many rules the players are absorbing on Tuesday before they check back in with their clubs on Wednesday for group training.
Lawrence, who even wants to safeguard from any symptoms and of his wife’s colleagues may be suffering from, said it’s all about getting on the front foot.
“If she’s at work and around people that are showing symptoms, we’ve got to be proactive about it,” he said.
“It’s just being honest, which is the main thing.
“At the end of the day, it’s about making sure whatever circumstance we put ourselves in, it’s about trying to minimise that risk.”
The league’s pending return to action was welcome news for the 31-year-old Lawrence, who comes off-contract at the end of the season.
The former Kangaroos representative, who suffered a gruesome facial injury last year, was forced to wait until late last year before re-signing for another season.
Lawrence feared he had played his last game of rugby league when the coronavirus pandemic threatened to wipe out the remainder of the campaign.
“That did cross my mind, that it might’ve been my last game of footy,” he said.
“I know how quickly things can change, good or bad, in the space of 12 months.
“You’ve just got to let things unfold.”
