Report: NBA reducing quarantine to 6 days for asymptomatic vaccinated people

Vaccinated NBA players, coaches, staff members, and referees who are asymptomatic are now eligible to clear quarantine after six days, the league stated Monday in a memo obtained by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Members of the aforementioned groups can now leave isolation before the end of the 10-day period if testing data shows they aren't at risk of being infectious, Wojnarowski notes. Individuals can also still exit quarantine if they produce two negative COVID-19 test results 24 hours apart.

This news comes the same day U.S. health officials recommended shortening the isolation period for asymptomatic people who test positive from 10 days to five.

The reduced quarantine is expected to affect several players who are currently in health and safety protocols, Wojnarowski notes.

The date of the positive test is considered Day 0, so players who are eligible for the reduced period would return after seven days.

A significant uptick in COVID-19 cases has plagued the NBA in December, with the majority identified as the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. Outbreaks within numerous teams have led to 181 players entering health and safety protocols in the last three weeks, according to ESPN's Baxter Holmes.