NBA, no coronavirus tests for asymptomatic players and staff

Some teams were criticized when they were able to arrange for testing of their entire teams at a time during the early days of the pandemic when tests were difficult to obtain

The NBA issued a memo Thursday night advising teams not to arrange coronavirus tests for asymptomatic players and staff.

The memo states that, “for the time being, it is not appropriate in the current public health environment to regularly test all players and staff for the coronavirus.”

Some teams were criticized when they were able to arrange for testing of their entire teams at a time during the early days of the pandemic when tests were difficult to obtain.

Story filed to @espn: The NBA sent a memo Thursday night advising teams not to arrange COVID-19 tests for asymptomatic players and staff, league sources told ESPN.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 1, 2020

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier Thursday night that the NBA expects it will need in the neighborhood of 15,000 tests to complete its season if it is able to resume play.