PBA games resume Tuesday, additional health protocols in place

THE Philippine Basketball Association has announced that it will resume its games on Tuesday and will impose new protocols recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

The league said it is committed to comply with the latest recommendation of the IATF noting that the health and safety of the 350 participants in the PBA bubble remains its top priority.

The IATF's recommended protocols are as follows:

-Completion of 10-day isolation of Blackwater player from the date of swabbing before resuming the games.

- Completion of 14-day quarantine and testing before entering the bubble for all those who will test positive moving forward; and

- The appointment of an independent marshall, who shall oversee and ensure compliance with health and safety protocols, as recommended by the DILG.

As an additional safety measure and in coordination with the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), the PBA will be assigned a separate temporary quarantine facility within the Clark Freeport Zone.

These additional protocols from health experts are put in place to ensure the integrity of the bubble.

"We would like to reiterate that the PBA bubble has not been breached but we must always strengthen our protocols in consultation with the IATF and NTF to ensure the safety of everyone in the bubble," the PBA said in a statement.