Is PBA ready to resume playing basketball?

The health and safety protocol of the PBA is now approved by the coaches of the twelve teams, and basketball practice is now allowed by IATF.

So, what is the health and safety protocol of the league?

All the personnel of all the teams will need to undergo a COVID-19 test, three days before the start of training. After that, teams will again have to undergo COVID testing every 10 days. All training facilities should initially be disinfected using hospital standard disinfection procedures, aside from the usual before-and-after group workouts disinfection process.

And I think the most critical protocol is, the players are also required to follow the 'closed circuit' method that confines their travel to home - practice facility and back.

Now, the most critical question is, what will the PBA do if one of the players gets the Coronavirus?

During the training period, cluster isolation will happen. Cluster isolation is applicable because, during training, only five persons will be allowed at the same time. So, if one of those five got a positive result, that cluster will be the only one to be isolated and quarantined, not an entire team.

Now, here is the problem, what happens if a player got a positive result during the resumption of games?

Remember that results may take a day before it is finalized. So, a player with the virus can interact with his team for almost a day, before being confirmed with the virus. So, it is now needed that they isolate the whole team.

Actually, even if players are tested before every match, the risk of having a false-negative COVID-19 result is there. A false-negative happens when a person got a negative result but he actually has the virus.

So, for example today is August 10 and tomorrow Ginebra will be having a match. All players got tested and Japeth Aguilar got a positive result. If they played a game last August 5, the potential impact of the risk that he got a false-negative during that game is big. He may have dispersed the virus to his teammates and at least to the team that they played on August 5.

Yes. No matter how systematic the protocols will be, the potential of a spread in the PBA will still be there.

Is the league ready for that?