PBA teams to shoulder expenses if player tests positive for COVID-19

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—PBA teams will take care of their players’ hospital bills if they test positive for COVID-19, the league’s Board of Directors decided during their meeting Saturday.

“The teams will take care of the hospital bills once a player gets infected with COVID-19,” said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial in Filipino in a story on the PBA website. “This is like when a player gets injured, so there’s really no need for any insurance.”

Upon Ginebra governor Alfrancis Chua’s suggestion, the league decided to upgrade COVID-19 testing to swab tests instead of the initial rapid-swab-rapid order that will be done every 10 days.

San Miguel Corporation, which tested all of its employees, will also use its laboratories to test the players and the teams will also shoulder the costs.

With the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases allowing professional basketball and football teams to resume practices, the PBA also gave the teams its approval to continue on with their workouts albeit under a strict health protocol.

Players are only allowed to travel from their homes to their practice venues during the course of the individual workouts and that they are not allowed to take visitors in their respective houses.

If a player goes outside apart from their practice venues during their days off, the league will also require them to report it.

These measures are placed on top of the league’s mandatory testing requirements.

Although scrimmages are still not allowed, the PBA will write a letter to the IATF come August to allow team play.

“Hopefully, they allow it,” said Marcial.