Several NBA players test positive for COVID-19 for second time, sources say

In addition to the anxiety currently plaguing the NBA amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, several players who had previously tested positive for the coronavirus have recently tested positive a second time, sources told ESPN.

The CDC defines “re-infection” as someone infected, recovering and then becoming infected again later. Studies are ongoing on the duration of immunity, but the CDC says it expects re-infections from the coronavirus.

The NBA has announced more than 100 positive tests since last summer, but the actual number since March is believed to be significantly higher. Several teams have more than 10 players who have tested positive at some point in the past nine months, sources told ESPN.

Since testing was less available and there were higher rates of false positives at the start of the pandemic, there is some level of uncertainty about how many players had truly positive cases in early 2020. , especially during the three-month league shutdown.

It is possible that some players who tested positive for the virus but asymptomatic months ago were false positives. Some players have been tested for antibody levels to determine their level of immunity, but there is currently no league-wide procedure to regularly test these levels.

Team and league medics are evaluating each positive test and player exposure on a case-by-case basis, as the nature of the virus is still unclear, league officials said. For example, players who have tested positive in the previous 90 days are sometimes treated differently from players who may have tested positive last summer due to how the virus could still appear in their system.

The league office, National Basketball Players Association, teams and agents have been in talks in recent days to consider protocol changes to limit the spread that has resulted in the postponement of three games. The league has already placed players who previously had the virus – Kevin Durant of Brooklyn and Bam Adebayo of Miami are two examples – in one-week health and safety quarantines after exposure to an infected person for fear of reinfection. or spread of the virus.

According to current CDC guidelines, the duration of immunity after COVID-19 infection is not yet understood. Some re-infections, based on knowledge of other coronaviruses, are expected but are considered rare.

ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon contributed to this story.