The coronavirus outbreak within the Washington Wizards isn’t subsiding anytime soon.
Ava Wallace of the Washington Post reported on Monday that a seventh Wizards player and one staff member have now tested positive for COVID-19. Before this update, no Washington staff member had tested positive for the virus.
On Friday, Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard told reporters that six players had tested positive, and also that another three were unavailable due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Washington hasn’t been able to dress the required league minimum of eight players since beating the Phoenix Suns, 128-107 on Jan. 11. Thus far, the Wizards have had five straight games postponed, including Wednesday’s contest at the Charlotte Hornets.
Washington is scheduled to play at the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
It’s believed the NBA and National Basketball Players Association will soon agree to expand team rosters to help clubs better deal with absences caused by the league’s coronavirus-related protocols. The NBA has postponed 15 games since the season started on Dec. 22, but multiple recent reports have said that there is currently no plan for the league to either temporarily pause the campaign or relocate personnel to a secure bubble site for the remainder of the regular season.
