NBA Issues New Covid-19 Guidelines
s were canceled amid outbreaks among players and a growing number of cases across the country. They include a requirement that players and staff of visiting teams can’t leave their hotel or interact with non-team guests. Players are also prohibited from getting to the arena more than three hours before game tip-off, can only elbow or fist bump and must wear face masks on the bench at all times. The NBA can also require players and team staff to undergo five consecutive days of twice-daily Covid-19 testing if there are positive cases. Since starting its 2020-21 season, the NBA has faced numerous positive cases among players, who are no longer confined to the bubble the league used during its playoffs over the summer. In the playoffs bubble, players and league personnel were required to undergo daily testing, had to wear masks and were isolated from the outside. While it proved successful at keeping out Covid-19, many players spoke about the challenge of being isolated from families, friends and their homes and adopting a bubble model for the entirety of the league’s regular season wasn’t pursued.
