Dr. Anthony Fauci suggests the 'bubble' idea pro sports leagues have considered could work

• Dr. Anthony Fauci said on the Snapchat show "Good Luck America" that sports could resume if games are played without fans, and players are quarantined in a hotel and tested every week.
• Fauci's comments essentially back the idea of playing in a "bubble," something the NBA and MLB have reportedly considered.
• There is a belief that even the bubble idea would not work unless mass testing for COVID-19 is available.
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As the entire sports world searches for ways to resume amid the coronavirus pandemic, the idea of playing in a "bubble" has been floated by several leagues.

The idea suggests entire leagues gathering in one city, staying in one hotel, under quarantine, then playing games in select arenas or fields, limiting exposure outside of the games. To many, the idea has several hurdles, including quarantining players for long amounts of time and testing and treatment protocols if one player or staff member tested positive for COVID-19.

However, on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, suggested that the bubble idea could work, so long as fans weren't involved.

"There's a way of [resuming sports]," Fauci said on "Good Luck America" on Snapchat. "Nobody comes to the stadium. Put [the players] in big hotels, wherever you want to play, keep them very well surveilled ... Have them tested every single week and make sure they don't wind up infecting each other or their family, and just let them play the season out."

MLB has reportedly discussed a plan in which teams gather in Arizona to play out the season, with players quarantined in hotels in between games.

The NBA has reportedly considered implementing a "bubble" in Las Vegas to play out the playoffs.

Fauci's belief in the bubble idea also suggests that mass testing for COVID-19 would need to be available.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst had previously called the NBA's ability to resume its season "pie in the sky" unless mass testing was available.

"The only way this is happening is with mass testing that is available, political-free — you don't have to worry about taking it away from somebody who needs it — and you can get quick results," Windhorst said. "Until there's testing, everything we're talking about here is pie in the sky. That's the reality that they've shown us in Asia. That's the reality the NBA has."

Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer, said he doesn't see football happening until mass testing is available and social-distancing measures have been dropped.

"As long as we're still in a place where when a single individual tests positive for the virus that you have to quarantine every single person who was in contact with them in any shape, form or fashion, then I don't think you can begin to think about reopening a team sport," Sills said. "Because we're going to have positive cases for a very long time."

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he is enlisting help from sports figures, including Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones, and Robert Kraft, to explore re-opening the economy.

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