NBA Announces No-Cost Community COVID-19 Testing Program in Orlando, Other Team Markets

The NBA has launched a new community testing program, which plans on providing no-cost COVID-19 tests in Orlando, Fla. and other team markets, the league announced Wednesday.

The program, which is part of the league's NBA Together program, says it aims to "support, engage, educate and inspire youth, families and fans in response to the coronavirus pandemic." Per the league's official release, the program began earlier in July and will run through August. 

The NBA is collaborating with UnidosUS and the National Urban League as well as a number of other private laboratories to identify areas most in-need of access to no-cost testing. In its release, it says that "public health data has made clear that the impacts of the coronavirus are most concentrated in historically marginalized communities of color where access to testing is scarce." 

In partnership with BioReference Laboratories, the NBA's testing provider on its Walt Disney World campus in Orlando, Fla., the league says it is providing free, daily COVID-19 PCR tests at a mobile collection site at the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlet.

The league is also involved in a number of other coronavirus-related initiatives, pertaining to testing, research and information awareness. 

Earlier Wednesday, the NBA and NBPA announced that of the 344 players tested for COVID-19 on the NBA's Orlando campus since results were last announced on July 20, zero tests returned confirmed positive tests.

The 2019-20 season is set to resume on Thursday as the Pelicans square off against the Jazz. The Lakers and Clippers also play Thursday night. Both games can be seen on TNT.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been more than 16.7 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus worldwide, causing at least 662,000 deaths. There have been more than 4.3 million confirmed cases in the United States.