The Celtics, who played the Jazz in Boston last Friday, announced in a press release today that they’re having players and staffers who were in close contact with Utah players or who traveled to Milwaukee this week self-quarantine at least through the weekend.
All of the Celtics’ players – as well as staff members who came into close contact with Jazz players or exhibit COVID-19 symptoms – will be tested over the weekend, the team said in its release. After consulting with health experts, the Celtics believe it’s unlikely that any of their players came into contact with Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell while they were contagious, but they want to take precautions nonetheless.
Meanwhile, the Pistons – who played Utah on Saturday in Detroit – announced today that there’s no indication the coronavirus was passed along to any of their players or staffers. However, they’re asking their players, coaches, basketball staff, and traveling party to self-isolate “until further notice” out of an abundance of caution.
A league source tells Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link) that coronavirus tests are available for Pistons players, but if they’re not exhibiting any symptoms, those tests are optional.
The Cavaliers, whose game with Utah took place back on March 2, believe based on conversations with the Jazz and health experts that Gobert and Mitchell did not have coronavirus when the Jazz visited Cleveland last week, league sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. No players or staff members have shown symptoms, so there are no plans for testing at this time, Fedor adds. If symptoms surface, that would change.
In an official statement, the Cavs confirmed that none of their players have experienced symptoms and indicated that the club isn’t currently under a mandatory quarantine.
The Knicks, whose game against Utah happened on March 4, are under the impression they’ll be self-quarantined, per Ian Begley and Alex Smith of SNY.tv. Marc Berman of The New York Post tweets that the Knicks remain at their hotel in Atlanta as of 1:00pm CT, with no concrete departure time set yet.
Earlier today, we passed along word that the Raptors, who played the Jazz on Monday, are being tested for coronavirus and have been advised to self-isolate for two weeks, while the Wizards – Utah’s opponent on February 28 – are also self-isolating for the next few days, just to be safe.