NBA relaxing rules for vaccinated players

The NBA is relaxing its rules for players who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Players who are fully vaccinated will have more freedom to see friends and families at home and away at games, be allowed to eat outside at restaurants and have a personal trainer in their home, according to a memo sent to NBA teams Thursday and obtained by The Hill.

Along with relaxed visitor rules, vaccinated individuals will not have to be tested every day and will not have to quarantine if they come into contact with someone who has COVID-19.

Once 85 percent of a team is vaccinated, those players will not have to wear a face mask at practice. They will also be allowed to eat indoors, attend in-person team meetings and leave the team’s hotel while traveling.

The Associated Press first reported on the NBA memo.

“Right now we operate under this so-called work quarantine protocol, where players are largely only going between their homes and the arenas,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in early March. “Once they get vaccinated, they’ll be able to do more in their communities. That’s something we’ve already begun talking to the players association about. So, there will be some real advantages and benefits to getting vaccinated for the players.”

Restrictions are being lifted for those around the country who are vaccinated. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already said that people who are vaccinated do not have to wear a mask around each other. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said new guidelines will be released soon for those who are vaccinated.

States have also been lifting restaurant capacities as a result of falling case numbers and increased vaccination numbers.

–Updated at 1:04 p.m.