Unvaccinated NBA players, staff must test weekly for COVID

Unvaccinated NBA players and team personnel must submit to weekly COVID-19 testing this season, the league told its clubs in a memo Tuesday.

There will be certain exceptions to that mandate, the league said, such as when the unvaccinated person is considered to have been "recently recovered" from COVID-19.

But for all others, testing will not be required except when "directed by their team physician or a league physician or government authority," the league said. Facemasks also will not be required, though they will be recommended for use indoors in markets where coronavirus levels are classified by government officials as high.

The policy for the coming season – agreed to by the National Basketball Players Association – has been developed over the last several weeks and is consistent with what Commissioner Adam Silver said last month he would expect.

The overwhelming majority of NBA players and team personnel were vaccinated last season, and the league said it is strongly recommending that those people remain up-todate with their vaccination status. That means having received all doses in the initial series of vaccinations but also all boosters that are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

All players and team personnel will be required to get tested when exhibiting any symptoms, and will be required to report those symptoms, as well as any positive or inconclusive results of tests not administered by the team or the league. Players and personnel will also have to report when someone in their household tests positive for COVID-19.