Sixers had to be quarantined in New York due to a positive COVID test

The Sixers are in quarantine in New York after a positive COVID test for one of their players, a team official confirmed to PhillyVoice late Thursday night. Seth Curry, who was ruled out for Thursday’s game after being listed as doubtful with an ankle injury, was the player who tested positive. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report Curry’s positive test.

According to sources who spoke to PhillyVoice about the condition of anonymity, Curry was tested according to the league protocols on Thursday morning, but the Sixers were under no impression that he was COVID-19 positive which would lead in the match. As a result, Curry sat on the bench in Philadelphia for the duration of the first quarter and only left court after the test results were reported to the team. Once the results were known, Curry isolated the team.

In TNT’s first – quarter footage that PhillyVoice reviewed, Curry appears to be wearing a mask on the couch for the duration of his time. However, he was in close contact with several members of the Sixers list, including Dwight Howard and Joel Embiid, the latter of whom sat next to Curry and spoke to him late in the first quarter.

The Sixers will all test again this morning as they work through contact tracing protocols before leaving New York, say sources and then work with the NBA to find out the next steps from here. It is not immediately clear how the team and the league are going forward.

Since Curry’s positive test comes as a surprise, it’s a possible cause for concern about the spread of the virus for the previous game against the Washington Wizards. Philadelphia went up to it again on Saturday in a home game with the Denver Nuggets, and there is currently no information available as to whether the league could be forced to change the schedule or postpone any Sixers games in the immediate future. On the other side of the coin, Joe Vardon reported the Brooklyn Nets are still flying to Memphis on Friday night for the second half of their rugby.

One Sixers player has already made it clear that he will take his own steps to protect his loved ones. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Thursday night that Joel Embiid plans to quarantine his family, including his three-month-old son, until he can be sure he does not have the virus.

This story develops …

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