NBA and National Association of Basketball Players agreed with changes to health and safety protocols that provide extended benefits to those who have been fully vaccinated, according to a memorandum sent to teams Wednesday night that was reviewed by ESPN.
Specifically, the protocol changes apply to anyone “two weeks after the final dose and to any team in which 85% of players and 85% of staff are fully vaccinated,” the note reads.
Fully vaccinated persons will no longer be required in quarantine after exposure to COVID-19; You can have friends, family and others visit you at home and on tour, without them trying or registering for the equipment. and you can dine al fresco at restaurants, among other relaxed restrictions.
Fully vaccinated teams will no longer have to wear masks in practice facilities; they have more flexibility to leave the team hotel on trips and can dine indoors or outdoors at restaurants, among other relaxed restrictions.
Here is the infographic distributed to NBA teams detailing the eased restrictions for vaccinated people and vaccinated teams: https://t.co/uSuMVkP4cR pic.twitter.com/7uOY4ugjUg
– Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) March 18, 2021
These benefits follow the recent guidelines announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for those who have been fully vaccinated. One of the guidelines announced by the CDC was that fully vaccinated people can gather indoors without wearing a mask.
A head coach of the Western Conference, who repeats others in the league’s health circles, said there was hope that the new benefits would serve as a motivating factor for those who could consider vaccination. But the head coach also called for caution, saying that just because someone was vaccinated, he will have to act responsibly and expect daily COVID-19 testing to remain part of the NBA routine.
It is not yet clear how many people in the league have been vaccinated, but sources in the league said that various athletic training officials of the team, coaches and other members of the qualifying team in the specific states where their teams reside received little first dose.
ESPN reported Sunday that dozens of eligible New Orleans Pelicans members, including several players, received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine after the Louisiana governor extended eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine.
As for the players outside the Pelicans, sources in the league said that so far only a small number of players have received a dose of vaccine and that those who did have pre-existing conditions.