Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley, assistant Nate Tibbetts enter health and safety protocols

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Orlando Magic tweeted late Monday afternoon that head coach Jamahl Mosley and assistant coach Nate Tibbetts have both entered NBA Health and Safety Protocols.  

The safety measures are typically put into action by the NBA when cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed or when one has had possible exposure to the coronavirus.  No other details were offered by the team regarding Mosley and Tibbetts. 

The Magic have a six-game home stretch beginning Monday night when they host the Portland Trail Blazers.  The team announced that assistant coach Jesse Mermuys will serve as acting head coach starting tonight.  Mermuys joined the Magic last year in the offseason, having previously served as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings.
 

The Magic struggled last month as roughly half-a-dozen players were placed under COVID-19 safety protocols and a Dec. 20 game against the Toronto Raptors was one of several postponed by the NBA amid the rising number of infections across the league, due to the omicron variant.   

The Magic were able to exercise the NBA’s hardship rule which allows teams to exceed the 15-man roster if multiple players are out with an illness.

The NBA tweaked its COVID-19 safety protocols late last year giving athletes a quicker path to return to play. Isolation periods for players who tested positive were significantly shortened — down to six days from what had been the customary 10 — provided those players are asymptomatic and meet other testing standards, the league posted on its website.   That memo was sent on the same day that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days.

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