(Reuters) – The Women’s National Basketball Association, which plans to begin its 2020 season in late July amid the COVID-19 outbreak, said on Monday seven of 137 players tested positive for the virus over the last week.
The announcement by the WNBA came on the same day 11 of the league’s 12 teams were due to arrive at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, which will serve as a single site for a training camp, games and housing.
“Any player who tested positive will remain in self-isolation until she satisfies public health protocols for discontinuing isolation and has been cleared by a physician,” the WNBA said in a statement.
The tests were conducted from June 28-July 5.
The WNBA added that the Indiana Fever will delay their travel by at least five days out of caution due to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s close contact self-quarantine requirements.
Media reports said two members of the Fever had tested positive.
In April the WNBA postponed the start of its 2020 regular season, which was supposed to run from May 15-Sept. 20, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Teams will now play a 22-game regular season instead of the originally-scheduled 36 games, followed by a traditional playoff format of single-elimination games for the first two rounds and best-of-five series for the semis and finals.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
