The NBA is ramping up testing of the coronavirus with the 2019-20 season set to resume at Walt Disney World on July 30. It’s in this that a number of players have tested positive for COVID-19.
It was initially noted last week that 16 players out of a pool of 344 had tested positive. We can now add several more to that growing list.
A total of 25 NBA players have now tested positive for COVID-19
Good news first. The 7.3% positive rate is well below the 10% that the World Health Organization recommends before economies can start opening up around the globe. Given that the NBA season will be played in a bubble city, this is pretty decent news.
Now, on to the bad news. We’ve seen outbreaks of the virus within the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans organizations. Further escalation in positive cases could force NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to stop the season in its tracks. He’s admitted as much recently.
Will the NBA schedule be impacted?
A total of 22 teams are set to return to the season in Orlando. Each squad will play eight regular-season games starting July 30 before the playoffs begin. Given the dramatic increase of COVID-19 cases in the state of Florida, this plan could be problematic.
Sure the teams will be inside a bubble. But as we’ve seen with the virus, it has been able to infiltrate all sectors of American society. That’s an alarming fact given the nature of the virus in the United States right now.