Fully vaccinated players and team personnel will likely not be required to undergo regular coronavirus testing during the NBA 2021-22 season.
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As the NBA prepares for the 2021-22 season, more information is starting to come out regarding the league’s COVID-19 protocols. The league has already informed that all referees must be vaccinated in addition to any team or arena personnel that comes into contact with players. That includes coaches and front-office executives to photographers sitting courtside and those at the scorer’s table.
Specific teams will also be following local government COVID-19 guidelines. This means players for the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors will all be required to be fully vaccinated to play in home games, in accordance with New York City and San Francisco’s vaccine mandate. However, that mandate doesn’t apply to visiting teams.
NBA issues COVID-19 guidelines, protocols to teams for fully and non-vaccinated players https://t.co/UGLaAyCQYq
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) September 3, 2021
The league hasn’t made any declaration that will require all players to be fully vaccinated. However, those who are will be afforded certain privileges as opposed to the unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated. Those privileges include:
Fully vaccinated players and team personnel will likely not be required to undergo regular coronavirus testing during the 2021-22 season. Fully vaccinated individuals won’t be required to quarantine if they come into close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID and won’t be restricted from team activities. If all players on a team are fully vaccinated, there may not be any restrictions on “away-from-work activities”, such as attending indoor bars, clubs and lounges.
That is a stark difference from last season when daily testing was the norm. There were heavy restrictions against even eating at restaurants while travelling on the road. With the widespread access of several vaccines against COVID-19, the NBA plans to allow those fully vaccinated to have a sense of normalcy return to their lives during the season.
For individuals not fully vaccinated, though, daily testing will be required and they will be required to quarantine if they come into close contact with someone who tests positive for the virus. They will be required to wear masks at team facilities and during team travel, and will not be allowed to sit next to other players during activities.
These guidelines could obviously change if COVID-19 reaches the point it was at last season. But for right now, the league is hoping that with enough fully vaccinated players, with NBA executive director Michele Roberts confirming that 90% of the league is vaccinated, there won’t be the need to postpone as many games.
Training camps for the upcoming season start at the end of September. The regular season for the 75th anniversary of the NBA tips off October 19.
