The NBA is preparing to restart the 2019-20 season in late July. The league has invited 22 teams to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The idea was to keep players, coaches, and staff isolated in an effort to avoid any further complications with the COVID-19 virus that caused the suspension of the season in the first place.

The problem with that is the state of Florida has seen a dramatic rise in the number of cases of the coronavirus. On Friday, June 19, Florida set a new single-day record with 3,822 new cases of the virus. The very next day – June 20 – the state surpassed that record to establish a new one with 4,049 cases.

Florida has now set records for new cases in a single day in seven of the past ten days. With nearly 94,000 cases, the state is becoming one of the country’s newest hot spots. Florida was one of the earliest states to reopen its economy after two-plus months of inactivity.

The NBA and commissioner Adam Silver are still optimistic and are looking forward to getting the season underway on July 30. Teams will begin reporting to Orlando in early July. There will be a training camp to help players get back into playing shape before the season resumes. 

On a positive note, the resurgence in cases in Florida is happening mostly in South Florida in Miami-Dade County. There, the number of COVID-19 cases is roughly 25,000. 

The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando is mostly in Orange County with part of it in Osceola County. Neither county has had that many cases of the coronavirus. Orange County has reported approximately 4,500 cases and Osceola County has roughly 1,000.

The NBA just recently released its health guidelines to all teams reporting. The guide emphasizes the precautions that will be taken to minimize contact between staff on-site at Disney and NBA personnel.

Rick Bouch