NEW YORK — The New York Knicks have shut down their practice facility after three employees tested positive for the coronavirus, the team said in a statement on Tuesday.
The closure comes less than a month before players are slated to return to their home markets to begin training camp for the 2020-21 season, which begins Dec. 22.
The NBA allowed teams to reopen their practice facilities on Oct. 30. According to a memo that the league sent to teams and was obtained by ESPN, players were required to be tested for COVID-19 every day and must continue to return negative tests in order to access the facility and participate in group workouts.
The Knicks said that all three employees who tested positive for COVID-19 are asymptomatic. The results were discovered during “routine screenings,” the team said.
As COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise around the country, Westchester County — where the Knicks’ practice facility is located — has been identified as a hot spot in New York. The state’s positivity rate is 3.09%, according to the New York State Department of Health. The positivity rate in Westchester County is 4.6%.
This marks the first time New York’s positivity rate has been above 3% since May.
