16 NBA players test positive for COVID-19

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association announced Friday 16 players have tested positive for the coronavirus out of 302 who were tested Monday.

“Any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until he satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician,” the league news release said.

The NBA also announced Friday the finalization of the "comprehensive plan" to resume the 2019-20 season July 30 restart in Orlando that "includes stringent health and safety protocols, a single-site campus at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and the goal of taking collective action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice."

Players will be tested every other day for COVID-19 and then two days before they leave for Orlando for the 22-team format to resume the 2019-20 season in July.

Teams will travel between July 7-9. Upon arrival, players and team staff must quarantine until they return two negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart.

Teams have until July 1 to submit names of their travel party, which includes players and essential staff. Teams can have up to 35 in the group.

The NBA season is set to resume July 30 at Walt Disney World.

Sources informed

that Phoenix had two players test positive for the coronavirus before Tuesday’s mandatory team testing, which led to the team temporarily shutting down voluntary workouts.

The Suns (26-39) were conducting voluntary workouts Tuesday at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The mandatory testing is part of Phase 2 of the NBA restart. The Health and Safety Protocols document breaks down the testing process as follows:

Each player and essential staff member must undergo a high-sensitivity PCR (COVID-19) and a high-sensitivity serology/antibody test.

PCR testing will be repeated every other day, and serology/antibody testing will be repeated in the event of a positive test.

Due to the regular PCR testing that players and essential staff will undergo

“Any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until he satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician.”

iiithroughout the resumption of the 2019- 20 season, the NBA does not currently expect to conduct any other serology/antibody tests unless determined by a physician to be necessary.

Testing of any asymptomatic players and staff will be conducted to reduce the risk of COVID-19 among players and staff, given that it is not possible for many of them to work in a physically distanced manner or while wearing a face covering.

Any tests conducted under a team testing program must not adversely impact the availability of testing for priority testing groups in each community.

According to the document, the highsensitivity PCR tests uses “an anterior nasal swab and an oropharyngeal swab for each test (or via a saliva sample if the test is validated for saliva collection). The anterior nasal swab and the oropharyngeal swab must be combined in the same transport medium and run on one PCR test.”

The serology/antibody

“collected via blood draw.”

The 22 teams will play eight regularseason games before the playoffs. The NBA and Disney have agreed to make the Arena, the Field House and Visa Athletic Center at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex the venues for games with no fans in attendance.

Phoenix is six games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference held by Memphis.

Six teams – Memphis, Portland, New Orleans, Sacramento, San Antonio and Phoenix – are essentially vying for the final playoff spot in the West. The Suns needs to get within four games of the eighth-place team to force a play-in tournament and then beat that team two games in a row to make the playoffs.

One play-in loss would end Phoenix’s season. The Suns haven’t made the playoffs since 2010.

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