In the first phase of coronavirus testing done by the NBA this season – which accounted for players contracting Covid-19 before joining their teams – the positivity rate was 8.8%.

In the second phase – which covered more time players fell into the NBA’s protocols – the positivity rate dropped to 1.5%.

Now – as players are getting more and more ingrained with their teams and the protocols – the positivity rate has come down to only 0.2%.

The NBA release said: “Of the 549 players tested for COVID-19 since Dec. 10, one new player has returned a confirmed positive test.”

On Monday, Noah Vonleh revealed that he tested positive for coronavirus. This indicates that the three Chicago Bulls players who missed Sunday’s game – Luke Kornet, Tomas Satoransky and Devon Dotson – did not test positive.

Overall, these results are amazing news for the NBA’s plan to proceed with the season without a bubble.

Players will be regularly tested for COVID-19. Image Credits: CBS News

To put things into perspective, Covid-19 projections estimate 2.7% of people in the United States has coronavirus as of December 1. There are various different ways the league reached this point.

The optimistic take is that the league’s protocols are working and the players are following them to stay safe.

The pessimistic take is that the league could be approaching herd immunity as so many players have contacted the virus that there are few left to get it.

A large number of players contracting and recovering from Covid-19 leaves questions about long-term health and how much they have spread the virus to high-risk groups.