In addition to recommending that its players self-quarantine through at least March 16, the NBA has told its clubs that each team is “encouraged” to conduct an educational session by Monday for its players and staff to discuss the coronavirus situation, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While those meetings could happen in person, it seems more likely they’ll take place remotely, given the NBA’s call to self-isolate. According to Charania, several teams already conducted meetings along those lines before the season was suspended on Wednesday.
Here are more updates on the ongoing coronavirus situation:
- While the NBA may have its own plans in mind for how and when to resume the season, those plans will be impacted by edicts from local governments. For instance, Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that the owners of all of Chicago’s major sports teams – including the Bulls – told Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker they won’t host any home games with fans in attendance through at least May 1. New York mayor Bill de Blasio, meanwhile, suggested on Thursday that venues like Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden could be closed for “months,” as Malika Andrew of ESPN tweets.
- NBA analyst Charles Barkley said on TNT on Thursday night that he hasn’t been feeling well and has self-quarantined, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Barkley was tested for COVID-19 and is awaiting those results, Feigen adds.
- Teams around the NBA want to be able to test their players for the coronavirus, but a limited supply of testing equipment nationwide restricts their ability to do so unless players or staffers are showing symptoms or have definitely come in contact with someone who was affected, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.
- The McDonald’s All American Games – a showcase for high school players – announced on Thursday evening (via Twitter) that its 2020 events have been canceled.
The Raptors wouldn’t have a problem getting tested. But then the US seems to be the only nation dealing with this irrationally.
Yep. We are. It’s because our leaders failed to take this virus seriously and then decided to treat it as an economic crisis rather than a national health crisis. And I’m not entirely sure they are taking it seriously right now.
Thank god for Federalism…
Please enlighten us, Mr. Expert, how this was supposed to have been handled. While you’re there, tell us how many fewer deaths and infections would have occurred with a PROPER response.
Right, because creating a panic is completely rational…
and what would you have done instead?
Such little imagination from some posters.
Test the contagion? We are just recently finding that the virus is expelling through breath very early in it’s infection cycle. Very crucial.
Understand that it will reach here before very long. Get that everyone can get it.
See the human side not just the economic.
Test kits. Testing should at least have been invented, if not devices produced for really any viral contagion. Right now samples have to be sent out. STILL?
The government can motivate labs to be ready with on-the-spot devices that show if it’s present. I have read the virus is easy to see under magnification; it should then be easy to detect.
The president is helpless and useless. How does that improve his chances in November.
Pence thinks God will come to the rescue and Trump thinks the Devil will save us all.
I’m glad I splurged for the double wide bunker.
LOL
Make sure you have enough toilet paper
Get a bidet and you wknt need toilet paper.
Well that went woosh!