NBA: 16 of 302 players test positive for COVID-19
The NBA and its players association announced Friday morning that 16 of the 302 players tested for COVID-19 were positive. That’s 5.3 percent of the league’s players.
NBA and NBPA Announce Covid-19 Test Results pic.twitter.com/DuMxsp8rB1
— NBPA (@TheNBPA) June 26, 2020
The players who tested positive will remain in self-isolation in compliance with public health protocols. They will rejoin their teams for workouts when cleared by a physician.
Those who tested positive were not disclosed and there was no data for team staffers and coaches from the NBA. Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdom said earlier this week he tested positive.
Teams prepare for individual workouts
The testing was done June 23, per the NBA, as players and teams approach time to report to training camps. Players are required to take tests every other day.
Individual workouts are scheduled to begin in home markets beginning July 1 and teams can arrive in Florida on July 7. There will be three scrimmages, and training camp will run from July 9-29.
The season is scheduled to restart July 30 at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, despite a spike in cases in the state.
COVID-19 cases rising in Florida
The number of positive COVID-19 cases has been consistently on the rise in Florida over the past weeks. The state’s department of health reported 8,942 new cases on Friday morning, soundly crushing the previous high of 5,511 from Wednesday. The positivity rate for new tests is 13.5 percent.
JUST IN: The Florida Department of Health is reporting 8,942 new cases of Covid-19 today. That's a huge spike and the highest single day reporting of #coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) June 26, 2020
It’s the highest single-day reporting since the start of the pandemic in mid-March. There are now 122,960 total cases of COVID-19 in Florida and at least 3,464 deaths.
The NBA will play in a bubble scenario at Disney World, but there are still ways for the virus to pierce that bubble. Despite a 113-page health and safety memo by the league, the situation’s biggest weakness could be that Disney World staffers are allowed to come in and out of the campus and the bubble. They could potentially bring the virus in, especially as cases spike in Florida and Orlando specifically.
For that reason there have been calls for the NBA to call off the 2019-20 season.
This post will be updated.
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