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After a call in which the apparent conclusion was that the NBA will not resume play for at least 30 days as the United States tries to slow the spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus, the league informed the Los Angeles Lakers and the rest of its teams of what the guidelines are for them during the suspension in play, according to multiple reports:
The NBA has notified its teams that all players are advised to stay in their home markets, remain home as much as possible and that teams are not allowed to hold group practices, meetings or workouts through at least March 16
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 12, 2020
NBA enforcing social distancing within its ranks. Teams such as the Lakers have also asked employees to work from home if possible. https://t.co/zoMKNgnnzu
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) March 12, 2020
NBA has informed franchises that "each team is encouraged" to conduct educational meeting by Monday for players/staff with physicians to discuss coronavirus situation -- either in person (appropriate spacing) or remotely.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 13, 2020
Several teams had such meetings before suspended season.
This is where I should mention that I’m not a doctor or an infectious disease expert, but that with that noted, all of these moves appear (on their surface) to make sense. Most have recommended social distancing as the best strategy in the face of this pandemic, so the earlier indications that practices would be allowed turning out to not be true lines up, logically.
It also is good for the players that they’re going to get close attention from their respective teams’ medical staff, as at the very least it may allow them to catch any illnesses early on and treat them as effectively as possible.
And with no firm date on when the NBA is going to resume play, it’s also not surprising that the league wants to make sure players stay in town so that they’re ready to go when games start back up. This will essentially just be an opportunity for these players to get a rare midseason rest to recover from any injuries they do have, even if its not coming amidst the most ideal conditions.
As a reminder for those of us that won’t have a medical staff checking in with us on a day-to-day basis, the CDC is asking people to:
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
For more information on the coronavirus, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus, and for all of our coverage of how this all affects the Lakers and the NBA, go to this page.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.