As the NBA gets closer to returning and the Players get closer to their trip to Orlando, many are expressing concerns whether they will actually be safe. Can the NBA successfully create a bubble in the middle of a coronavirus infested Florida and live up to the promise of keeping the Disney World/World Wide Sports complex virus free? No, they can’t. But, they are trying to do their best.
It doesn’t make it any easier that Florida has total of 80,109 cases of Covid-19, including 2,783 in the last 24 hours, a day record since the virus began. Before that Saturday was the highest with 2,581 cases. That said, there is only 928 total cases in Orlando since March.
Should NBA players and staff be worried? They should definitely be aware. I don’t blame some of the players for being reluctant to want to put themselves at risk. Players are looking at at least one to two months of being confined at the Disney World complex. If a Players leaves the bubble while there, they will have to be quarantined for 10 days before they can play again.
Disney World employees on the other hand will not be quarantined and that could cause issues. The NBA could be more certain in the stability of the bubble if Disney employees, like NBA players and staff were confined to the bubble. Instead other measures will be taken to minimize the risk. Disney employees will always wear masks, take constant temperature checks and never be within 6 feet of NBA players or staff. Housekeepers will not be in the rooms when players or staff are present, and will be assigned certain rooms to lower risk.
This doesn’t ensure the bubble will be 100% virus free, but it minimizes the risk for infection Still, employees who leave could contract the virus and be asymptomatic, before bringing into the bubble. It could get in through housekeeping, cooks who will prepare foods for Players and staff while they stay. There is no total assurance.
While some experts have said it is very possible to create and maintain a virus free atmosphere it will not be an easy task. Rules will have to be stringently followed. Players would have to not leave the bubble to get food, sight see, shop, see family close by, etc to keep the Bubble intact. The NBA will also have to successfully manage the line between the bubble and the outside world Disney Workers are in contact with and bringing with them to work at the complex.
The NBA is setting more and more rules and boundaries every day to try and make the bubble safe as possible, but it is all one thing on paper and another for it to work when it relies on so many people being confined for several months and cooperating. The human condition is after all unpredictable.
For many players though, the risk is worth taking even with Covid-19 running rampant. Players need to make money to take care of there families financially. Not all of them are on star level contracts and depend on that money. Not to mention they are trying to avert a calamity with the CBA. Sometime the need out weighs the risks.
Will the NBA Bubble be successful? We’ll see.
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