Jrue Holiday Listed as Inactive due to Health and Safety Protocols

In the minutes leading up to the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets game, the Bucks tweeted out that Bryan Forbes would be taking Jrue Holiday’s place in the starting lineup. Minutes (but what felt like hours) later, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm tweeted this update:

We’re still unsure of whether this is due to contact tracing or a positive test, but we do know the Bucks should expect to be without their point guard at least for a stretch of this trip. Of course, all that matters is Holiday and his family’s health. Milwaukee had avoided any sort of COVID-19 related absences this year, due to either contact tracing or positive tests. Eventually, it had to catch up to the team, but the timing could not be worse as they embark on a west coast road trip to continue the momentum they started over the past week.

We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.

UPDATE

While we still have no official word from the Bucks organization as to Holiday’s current status, Khris Middleton indicated in his postgame comments that Jrue tested positive.

IF Holiday did test positive, then here are the details from an ESPN article detailing the NBA’s protocols for a return:

Under the time-based resolution, the infected person would have to either have gone at least 10 days since the date of their first positive test or the onset of any symptoms, if they’ve had any; gone at least 24 hours since their fever went away without using any medications; and other symptoms have improved, while specifically noting that losses of taste or smell alone are not expected to prevent someone from leaving isolation.

Under the test-based resolution, the person must return at least two consecutive negative PCR tests from samples taken at least 24 hours apart.

Either way, any player who is determined to have a new positive case from testing — whether they have symptoms or not — will not be allowed to participate in any exercise training for at least 10 days from either the positive test or the resolution of symptoms, if they have any.

Once a player has waited that minimum of 10 days, they then must spend two days working out by themselves, not interacting with anyone or participating in any team activities, wearing a mask at all times when at the facility — whether they are working out or not — and must participate in a cardiac screening. So any player who tests positive will have to miss a minimum of 12 days before they can return to play.