The NBA does not relax with its fight to keep the season safe in the face of possible chaos caused by the coronavirus. Although the latest reports register zero infections, the League does not intend to neglect its players. As reported by Baxter Holmes from ESPN, it is planned to implement a contact tracing program by requiring the use of sensors during all activities organized by the teams starting on January 7.
Both the players, as well as some specific members of the staff (including the coaches), must wear these rings that function as contact sensors. According to the memo that the NBA has sent to the franchises, its use will be mandatory: on the team plane, the team bus, during practices, in transfers to and from the pavilions or practice facilities.
Failure to use the sensors will be subject to significant penalties that are not yet defined. But as Adrian Wojnarowski from the same chain has told us, the League has urged the teams themselves to take the main responsibility of monitoring and enforcing the protocols. The franchises will be responsible in the first instance for imposing any sanction that they consider appropriate to the players or team personnel.
A trial period for this protocol has already started on December 23, and it is expected to be definitively implemented on January 7. On the other hand, it will not be mandatory for players to use the sensors during matches, or at the team hotel when traveling.
The rings will not keep records of the location of each person, but will simply activate when they approach another monitored individual. The distance and duration of interactions between different people using the sensor will be recorded. The NBA believes this information will aid in its contact tracing reviews for future coronavirus positives.
But these sensors will not be the only element that the League will have at its disposal. They will also be able to conduct interviews with players and staff members, as well as allow you to examine the cameras at the team facilities, in order to determine and locate who may have been exposed to an infected person.
(Cover photo by Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
