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(Reuters) - Forty-eight
NBA players tested positive for COVID-19, the league said on
Wednesday, as players returned to their team's home markets for
the start of the 2020-21 season on Dec. 22.
The NBA said it tested 546 players as part of its "initial
return-to-market testing phase," which kicked off between Nov.
24 and Nov. 30. Anyone who tested positive was placed in
isolation until cleared under league rules.
The league had few issues keeping its "bubble" environment at
Walt Disney World free of the novel coronavirus as it carried
out the end of their delayed season earlier this year, but now
faces many of the same challenges other North American leagues
have playing in the COVID-19 era.
With the exception of the Toronto Raptors, teams will play in
their home markets this season, with individual player workouts
starting this week and group workouts beginning Sunday.
The Raptors, the only Canadian team in the league, will start
their season in Tampa, Florida, due to tight international
travel restrictions, as COVID-19 cases soar in the United
States, where hospitalizations hit a record for a fourth
consecutive day on Tuesday.
The NFL, which is currently playing, and MLB, which wrapped its
truncated, delayed season with the World Series in October, both
grappled with numerous game postponements and COVID-19
positives, as players traveled from city to city to compete in a
sports landscape thoroughly upended by the pandemic.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Richard Chang)
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