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Tim BontempsESPN
The NBA and the Nationwide Basketball Gamers Affiliation collectively introduced Wednesday evening that there have been 48 constructive exams for COVID-19 out of the 546 gamers examined from Nov. 24 to Nov. 30.
This was the preliminary spherical of exams for gamers as they returned to their groups’ markets forward of the beginning of particular person exercises Tuesday. The common season is scheduled to begin Dec. 22.
The NBA shall be testing all of its gamers each day all through the season.
Whereas the league’s constructive check fee of 8.8% in its preliminary testing is decrease than the nationwide common of 10.2% over the identical timeframe, it is also considerably increased than the 5.3% fee (16 out of 302) throughout the identical return-to-market interval in late June earlier than play on the bubble in Orlando, Florida.
In complete, 46 gamers examined constructive for the coronavirus within the weeks main as much as and upon initially arriving on the bubble. After the bubble was fashioned, the league had no constructive exams by means of the tip of the season in mid-October.
As for this season, one group, the Golden State Warriors, delayed the start of its particular person exercises by a day this week due to constructive exams.
Because the league detailed in its 134-page well being and security protocols launched to groups over the weekend, a participant must chorus from exercises for 10 days if he exams constructive and stays asymptomatic — or 10 days from the tip of his signs, if he has any. After that, a participant will then must spend two days figuring out individually, in addition to must move a cardiac screening, earlier than being allowed to renew full group actions.
That will make it a minimal 12 days from the time a participant examined constructive till he was in a position to resume full participation with teammates.
The NBA’s first preseason video games are Dec. 11 — or fewer than 12 days from the tip of the primary testing window.
