SAFETY

is the health and safety of our players, coaches and staff that will be on the campus at Disney,” Martins said. “We have consulted with some of the top medical experts in the country, epidemiologists from Columbia University and Johns Hopkins, and others, [including] a former surgeon general [Vivek Murthy].

“So a lot of time and effort has been put into the safety protocols. We're confident that the protocols that are in place will keep everybody on the Disney campus confined and amongst each other, and with little to no exposure of anyone else from the community. So in saying that, I'm confident that we have a safe plan in place and that despite the recent rise in cases in Florida that it will be a safe environment for all of our players, coaches and staff that are at Disney.”

Orlando City CEO Alex Leitão said he has heard the questions about test results and is confident Central Florida can be a safe host.

“What the authorities really care [about] and are looking into are hospitalizations. The use of ICUs,” he said. “And every death matters, of course. … We have our minds and hearts thinking of those people.

“But the point is, that [hospitalization] trend is really the one that we have to take care of and look into and that trend is very positive for us.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious

Diseases who has gained international recognition for his work, told Stadium he thought plans that call for bubble-like isolation are the safest.

“I actually had looked at that [NBA] plan and it is really quite creative what they are really trying to do and I think they might very well be quite successful with it, is to create a situation where it is as safe as it possibly could be for the players by creating this bubble,” he said.

“… It's a sound plan. I was very pleased to see the intent was not reckless at all. They really wanted to make sure that the safety of the players and the people associated with the players was paramount.”

Given the increased spread of COVID-19, will the NBA and MLS be taking too many needed health resources away from the Orlando area?

MLS is donating tests to assure it doesn't deplete the local inventory and the NBA also has pledged to not add strain anywhere it operates.

With two major hospital systems in Orlando, leagues officials also are confident they won't use medical supplies needed elsewhere while treating any emergency injuries.

“I absolutely believe it still makes sense,” Martins said. “There will be no impact on local resources whatsoever. Both our team and our league have been in contact with the Florida Department of Health, and Dr. [Raul] Pino, [the Health Officer for the Department of Health in Orange

County] in particular, and we've been assured there are plenty of resources available for our local residents and that we won't be having any negative impact on that whatsoever.”

Will the leagues stop play if athletes test positive for COVID-19?

Right now, no. But those who worked on elaborate plans to resume play understand they may have to adapt to new conditions.

The NBA and MLS both currently have safety guidelines that call for isolating players or staff who test positive and then conducting contact tracing, but not suspending play. A player or staff member will need to test negative for COVID-19 multiple times in order to resume play or work after a positive test result.

“We know more today than when this virus started,” Martins said. “I think we know that provided that we do regular testing, provided that if someone were to test positive we put them in a quarantine situation, the belief is that we can play and keep those safety protocols in place without having the danger of major spread. That's the hope, but you also just have to take it day by day.

“The study of safety protocols and ensuring the safety of everybody has been exhaustive and I'm confident that it's going to be a safe environment.”

MLS Commissioner Don Garber said there is no set number of positive tests that would trigger suspending play.