NBA – Forty-eight players test positive for COVID-19 as league prepares for new season



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Forty-eight NBA players tested positive for COVID-19, the league said on Wednesday, as players returned to their team’s home markets for the start of the 2020-21 season on Dec. 22.

The NBA said it evaluated 546 players as part of its “initial back-to-market testing phase,” which began Nov. 24-30. Anyone who tested positive was placed in isolation until clearance under league rules.

The league had little trouble keeping its “bubble” environment at Walt Disney World free of the novel coronavirus, as it carried out the end of its delayed season earlier this year, but now faces many of the same challenges as other leagues. Americans have playing in the COVID-19 Era.

With the exception of the Toronto Raptors, teams will play in their local markets this season, with individual player training starting this week and group training starting Sunday.

The Raptors, the only Canadian team in the league, will begin their season in Tampa, Florida, due to strict international travel restrictions, as COVID-19 cases skyrocket in the United States, where hospitalizations reached a record per quarter. consecutive day on Tuesday. .

The NFL, which is currently playing, and MLB, which concluded its truncated and delayed season with the World Series in October, grappled with numerous game postponements and positives from COVID-19, as players traveled from city to city to compete in a sports scene. completely upset by the pandemic. – Reuters



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