According to a memo from the NBA, vaccinated NBA players, coaches, referees and staff members will now only have to quarantine for six days if COVID-19 testing data shows they are no longer infectious. The current time to clear quarantine is 10 days. The NBA and National Basketball Players Association agreed to the change. Individuals can still clear quarantine if they test negative for the virus twice with each test coming 24 hours apart.

The NBA has found that those who have received the COVID-19 booster expel the virus from their system far more quickly than those who have not. Expert research data contributed to the NBA’s decision to shorten the quarantine period, showing that no one with a cycle threshold over 35 has been shown to be infectious for more than six days. CT measures how many times a test needs to cycle to detect the virus in a person.

Earlier Monday, the CDC announced that individuals who test positive for the virus will only need to quarantine for five days, as opposed to the previous 10 days recommended, if they are asymptomatic.

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