How many times just a few days ago did Goubert touch the basketball that was also touched by the Raptors, potentially infecting them with the corona virus and starting off a domino effect of contagion? Plus in your American-slanted article, why aren’t the Toronto Raptors mentioned as possible playoff contenders? After all, they were last year’s champions. — a Toronto Raptors loyal fan
Donovan Mitchell and Emmanuel Mudiay also have the coronavirus. People need to take this seriously.
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Rudy Gobert has set the worst example of someone who contracted Covid-19 by touching every mic at the press conference and rubbing his hands over every surface he could find before exiting the room. A temper tantrum that is this dangerous does not make Gobert a very good role model.
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Who is Fox “ news” blaming for this? I can’t bear to look.
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I wouldn't be shocked if the vile xi hushed the heroic Dr. Li Wenliang and let the virus spread in the particular hope that if the NBA wouldn't play in China—and play along with his regime—then the NBA wouldn't get to play anywhere.
xi's flexed his tyrant muscles internationally in other ways after all—e.g. getting Chinese workers outside China fired for siding with Taiwan. He's just as spitefully jealous as the loser here.
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So as long as you are an NBA team, you can get tested, apparently.
The rest of the country that is not wealthy professional athletes or politicians, not so much.
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The liberty and opportunity the United States offers are directly proportional to your offshore bank account. It's the richest country in the world for the richest people in the world.
For the rest of us without Cayman hoards...don't get sick!
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Stadiums probably are the least of the typical avid sports fans' worries. People still will be packing themselves into sports bars and various other shoulder-to-shoulder TV viewing venues (e.g., KC's outdoor, but frequently packed Power & Light District plaza) where they are just as likely, if not more so, to come into contact with a virus carrier.
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I'm wondering: if and when all the sports venues that are shutting down or doing "no-fans" games are given he green light to start up again, will the fans return?
I'm guessing, not so much. I'm thinking a lingering fear will exist for some time to follow. The fear of crowds, in whatever shape or form it comes, will pervade the national mentality for some time to come.
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Smart call...
But I was very much looking forward to 35 year old Lebron James winning Most Valuable Player on the way to winning his 5th NBA championship.
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The look on Marc Cuban’s face when he learns the season was cancelled is the most reassuring thing I’ve seen all week. When billionaires lose, action follows. When janitors lose, not so much.
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This is a no-brainer. We're already reluctant to get on an airplane with 150 other people, nobody in their right mind will get on a cruise ship with 2500 other people, but we'll pack ourselves into a closed arena with 15,000 other people to watch a basketball game? Right call by the NBA.
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This is a complex issue. The truth is Covid 19 for healthy individuals like NBA players has a death rate lower than the common flu. Covid 19 has a death strike rate anywhere from 2-4.5% depending on the country per CDC, with 80% of those deaths concentrated in the elderly and feeble population.. We also know that children are contracting less than normal flu and when they do it is generally a mild case.
So the larger question,,, are the current mass restrictions taking place an over the top hysterical/panic reaction for a virus that is essentially doing the crux of it's damage to the old and feeble?
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@zinn21
I'm old and feeble, and I attend crowded events in large auditoriums. So I take covid-19 very seriously indeed! Do you propose to stop everyone at the ticket takers and show proof of not-so-aged age?
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@zinn21 No, it is not over the top to prevent spreading a highly contagious infection that will easily overwhelm our health care system if drastic steps are not taken to contain it.
Also, your seeming openness to sacrificing potentially millions of "old and feeble" neighbors says a lot.
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@Maple Surple Not saying to sacrifice but rather focus prevention for those that are at the highest risk of death and whether current preventative protocol is the best approach..
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Sad to me that corporations such as the NBA, Amazon, and others are the ones to take the responsibility of public health while our government flounders.
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The virus is 10,000 times more contagious than SARS and does not present symptoms until a week after infection. Can’t be stopped short of total lockdown.
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Why was he allowed to play while sick?
Why did he elect to play while sick?
Maybe this virus will reinvent commonsense and put people before profits.
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I fail to see what the big deal is here, why this is even news. Of course they should stop. This whole thing is nothing more than a bunch of grown men fighting over a ball anyway. Of absolutely no consequence, unless in stopping they’ll help to prevent the further spread of illness. Which is the best thing that can be said. Now there will be more air time and column inches available to report real news.
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Respectfully....@Caroline Quinn of no consequence, except for every individual or business that is supported by or supports the hugely massive business that is professional basketball, or ___ (fill in the blank for any other sport or entertainment field this will happen to.) You perhaps couldn’t care less about basketball, I get it, but think of the people who work the arenas, the restaurants that feed the fans, the hotels and related tourism businesses that benefit from the influx of game attendees, or the vendors who provide the countless services to stage even just one event. That’s the consequence.
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@Caroline Quinn Au contraire. Now the column inches will be infected with this sports thing. Not a good thing.
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It’s good that the NBA regular season is shut down... it’s way too long to start with. It’s one long exhibition season. 50 regular season games would be plenty. Hopefully the can start up again in April or May with the playoffs.
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Watch the video of the infected player touching all the mics and cell phones as he left the podium Monday. Tested positive on Wednesday. Big joke, right?
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@SteveH And a teammate tested positive after Gobert was goofing off and touching other players.
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Funny (not really) - "after wed nights game" - how come nothing is ever "effective immediately" ? Because no one will transmit the virus between now and the end of the game ?
But then, one has to placate the wealthy owners and cry babies who might have to miss their game ... oh my !
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We're looking at millions infected just within the United States. In South Korea, they're finding clusters of new infections in places like call centers, PC rooms, and high density housing complexes. Those infected used subways and transit hubs, risking thousands of additional people. It's clear that the numbers of cases is the result of testing and not the true prevalence of COVID-19. The global situation will become harrowing and out of control when countries without advanced medical and public health system begin reporting local and regional epidemics. From India to Brazil to Sub-Saharan Africa, this is a nightmare scenerio. The only way out is vaccine or cure. Social distancing can slow things down but the virus is too durable and robust as it lives on surfaces for days to have the epidemic peter out with social distance alone as was the case with MERS.
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We're looking at millions infected just within the United States. In South Korea, they're finding clusters of new infections in places like call centers, PC rooms, and high density housing complexes. Those infected used subways and transit hubs, risking thousands of additional people. It's clear that the numbers of cases is the result of testing and not the true prevalence of COVID-19. The global situation will become harrowing and out of control when countries without advanced medical and public health system begin reporting local and regional epidemics. From India to Brazil to Sub-Saharan Africa, this is a nightmare scenerio. The only way out is vaccine or cure. Social distancing can slow things down but the virus is too durable and robust as it lives on surfaces for days to have the epidemic peter out with social distance alone as was the case with MERS.
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Despite world-wide precautions taken the past few days, Disneyworld, not willing to drop a time in revenue, is still packing them in. They come from all over the world, from countries with severe restrictions in place, and stand in crowded lines for up to 90 minutes per ride. There are some extra hand sanitizers set up, but it appears Disney is unwilling to shut its gates. Coronavirus is no doubt being transmitted daily and Disney will soon no longer be known as the happiest place on earth.
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@Herman Villanova
Exactly correct. Disney is predictably greedy, and the people still going there under these circumstances are predictably stupid.
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The NBA isn’t the only group with problems; the elderly are about to become an endangered species.
Per the CDC, coronavirus is already especially dangerous for those in their 60s, 70s, 80s and up because affected oldsters are dying or becoming seriously ill much more frequently than those under 60.
It has dawned on me that coronavirus may be used as an excuse to cancel US boomers, you know, those old people who consume an inordinate amount of funds for Medicare, Social Security and a wide range of social services.
Lest you think I am an alarmist, I will point out that top doctors in Italy, which has the highest coronavirus case-load outside of China, have recommended that rather than admit patients on a first-come-first-served basis, hospitals should give ICU and bed priority to those with the highest likelihood of survival—that is, people under 60.
Indeed, this under-60 guideline should apply to all patients needing intensive care treatment and not just those suffering from coronavrius, according to the Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SAARI).
Yes, this recommendation is being made in Italy now, but in a couple of weeks, when US hospitals and ICUs start to overflow, the policy will be considered in the US.
Actors, politicians and elites over age 60 have the money and power to get preferred treatment for coronavirus; the fate of the rest of us oldsters is up to the vagaries of the virus.
Why hasn’t AARP picked up on this?
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The ripple effects of this decision will feel more like a tsunami to gig-workers, much more devastating than the short-term impact upon more-affluent profit-seekers. But, for this fan(atic), it really hurts to accept that the LALakers' Lebron James / Anthony Davis experiment will be prematurely and permanently eclipsed. Will the NBA offer refunds to League Pass-holders?
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@VaDare Last week the league (Association) pointed out that clauses in the Collective Bargaining Agreement permitted teams to withhold pay from players for canceled games. It will be interesting to see if this actually happens, since you've have a bunch of disgruntled stars headed into the stretch run, and playoffs. I doubt that it will, but I am surprised that no college player (likely Lottery Pick) has announced his intent to forego a fan-free Tourney.
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This to me represents a profound change in attitude from an enormous money making enterprise. Would that the White House demonstrate equal purpose and precaution.
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Adam Silver is more presidential than trump (a very low bar, admittedly)
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One of the medical experts said yesterday that it's possible that anywhere from 75 to 150 million Americans could eventually get COVID-19, some 40% of the population at the high end. And, if present trends continue, its lethality at about 3-4%, could account for as many as 6 million deaths country-wide. Those are scary enough numbers that it helps explain actions like the NBA suspension of games. There is certain to be lots more to come. Hold on tight, everyone.
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@TRA Hold on tight to what? The Republicans have taken away our confidence to hold on to anything, aside from our loved ones. I'll hold on to her and watch as the world slips away....