As the NBA continues its march toward resuming play on July 30 at Walt Disney World, the safety of the individuals convening in Central Florida has been an oft-discussed topic.
Isolation within the “bubble” that the NBA hopes to create is months of isolation that participating players will have to endure, mostly out of a want to reduce the potential exposure to COVID-19.
To that end, on Saturday, teams got some welcomed news when the NBA issued updated guidance which alerted clubs to the fact that they had the green light to test asymptomatic players for the disease.
The news of the updated guidance was first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, and it’s a fairly big deal.
What had made COVID-19 especially scary was the threat of asymptomatic carriers — commonly referred to as “dormant carriers” — of the disease unknowingly spreading it to the others. Both Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell were among the league’s players who tested positive for the disease prior to experiencing any symptoms.
Because of the relative scarcity of tests across the country, the NBA has held steadfast to its initial guidance by prohibiting teams from proactively testing players. The league did not want to appear to be utilizing resources that the general public needed.
With the new directive, the NBA might be able to get ahead of the curve by having players tested before the season resumes. That process will probably begin sooner rather than later.
