US sports leagues cope with COVID-19 outbreaks amid variants

DENVER – U.S. sports leagues are seeing rapidly expanding COVID-19 outbreaks with dozens of players successful wellness and information protocols, amid an ongoing surge by the delta variant of the coronavirus and rising cases of the highly transmissible omicron mutation.

Both the NBA and NHL person had to postpone games implicit the past period with truthful galore players sidelined, and the men's hoops teams astatine Tulane and the University of Washington person seen cancellations owed to outbreaks successful their programs. The NFL won’t postpone games, saying forfeits could beryllium successful play instead.

The difficulties for U.S. sports travel connected the heels of soaring infections successful Europe, wherever English Premier League officials called disconnected 3 shot matches successful 4 days owed to the microorganism and the German authorities temporarily restricted Bundesliga arenas to 50% attendance oregon 15,000 fans.

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But don’t expect the U.S. leagues to instrumentality to “bubble” play oregon unopen down for a mates of weeks to fto things subside.

“The mode our strategy is acceptable up now, an corruption triggers a concatenation of events and that leads to confusion, disruption, mayhem. But from a aesculapian respect, these radical are chiefly vaccinated and not going to spell to the hospital,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious illness specializer astatine the University of California, San Francisco.

“We’re successful a precise antithetic satellite from a twelvemonth ago. … It’s not excessively atrocious for young, steadfast athletes," Chin-Hong added.

And there's excessively overmuch financially astatine involvement for leagues to see shutdowns, fixed the millions upon millions of dollars mislaid erstwhile sports took a hiatus past year. There's besides instrumentality unit to instrumentality into account.

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“The abbreviated reply is money. It’s what’s driving (the leagues’) decisions to proceed to play, adjacent successful the look of these outbreaks,” said Nola Agha, a prof of sports absorption astatine the University of San Francisco.

“I don’t deliberation they volition trim the fig of fans oregon unopen down the full season," she continued. "I deliberation they volition proceed to bash the champion they tin wrong section wellness section guidelines, which mightiness trim the fig of fans.”

In Canada connected Wednesday, the country's largest province, Ontario — location to the NBA's Toronto Raptors and the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators — acceptable a headdress of 50% of capableness for ample gatherings specified arsenic nonrecreational sports events.

So acold the NHL has had the astir postponed games for a league successful North America this season, with 10. The Senators were archetypal successful mid-November, followed by the Calgary Flames and the Carolina Hurricanes this week. On Wednesday alone, the Nashville Predators added six players and six unit members to the wellness and information protocols, and Boston Bruins skipper Patrice Bergeron went successful arsenic well.

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The omicron variant is mostly liable for the uptick successful NHL cases, according to a idiosyncratic with nonstop cognition of discussions betwixt the league and the NHL Players’ Association, but it does not relationship for each affirmative tests. The idiosyncratic spoke connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that the talks were private.

The idiosyncratic besides said the NHL is reintroducing enhanced COVID-19 protocols including restricting players to their hotels portion connected the roadworthy and bringing backmost regular investigating done astatine slightest Jan. 7.

Interim manager Derek King of the Chicago Blackhawks, who were expected to play the Flames this week, said the squad has been reinforcing with players the value of societal distancing, hygiene and avoiding crowds.

“Just truly knuckle down, due to the fact that we don’t privation to beryllium 1 of those teams that’s got to rearrange their docket due to the fact that we person COVID,” King said.

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The NBA besides has respective stars successful COVID-19 protocols close now, including the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Brooklyn Nets' James Harden. As of Wednesday afternoon, 33 players — astir 6.5% of the league — were successful the protocols, with 17 of those playing for either Chicago oregon Brooklyn.

The Bulls had games postponed Tuesday and Thursday due to the fact that they didn’t person capable players available, portion Brooklyn played with an NBA-minimum roster of 8 connected Tuesday.

That aforesaid night, erstwhile Golden State Warriors defender Stephen Curry acceptable a grounds for vocation three-pointers astatine New York's Madison Square Garden, NBA commissioner Adam Silver wasn't successful the assemblage — some helium and lawman commissioner Mark Tatum person been undergoing regular investigating aft attending an lawsuit hosted by Toronto president Masai Ujiri, who tested affirmative soon after.

“Like the remainder of the country, and arsenic was predicted by our infectious illness specialists, we person seen an summation of cases astir the league,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said Wednesday, adding that the league volition proceed to beryllium guided by subject and information and cooperate with the Players Association.

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The NBA says 97% of players are vaccinated and conscionable implicit 60% person received booster shots.

Preeti Malani, the University of Michigan's main wellness officer, an infectious illness adept and a subordinate of 2 Big Ten COVID-19 advisory committees, said boosters volition beryllium “essential” to avoiding docket disruptions.

“The biggest happening we tin do, whether it's sports oregon schoolhouse oregon workplace, is to beryllium highly vaccinated. … That means being boosted successful summation to the superior series," Malani said.

The NFL is possibly fortunate successful that astir of its games are played outdoors, truthful there’s little hazard for fans.

But the league is having its worst outbreak successful presumption of players connected the reserve/COVID list: Eighty-eight tested affirmative Monday and Tuesday, and respective much were added Wednesday including 8 connected the Washington Football Team. The L.A. Rams person 16 connected the list.

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It's a tiny percent for a league with astir 2,200 players betwixt progressive rosters, injured reserves and signifier squads. But omicron could origin that to emergence quickly.

New York Giants manager Joe Judge said his players are present wearing masks indoors and are spaced retired much successful meetings.

“Anyone who’s been progressive successful immoderate benignant of a adjacent interaction oregon trial astatine this constituent has either been removed oregon separated from the team, and they’re successful virtual meetings,” Judge said.

The NFL Players Association has raised alarms for months astir the league moving from regular to play testing, which hampers detection of outbreaks.

Chin-Hong of UCSF said they're close to beryllium acrophobic and the NFL should rethink the policy.

“(Testing) erstwhile a week is truthful 2020,” helium said. “We person the exertion to bash it respective times a day.”

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On the assemblage level, determination person been immoderate different cancellations too the ones involving Tulane and Washington: Cleveland State men's basketball; Iowa women's basketball; and a postponed Cal Bears shot game.

The American Athletic Conference, Pac-12, Southeastern Conference and Big East each told AP that their policies haven't changed since the opening of the schoolhouse year: Teams incapable to play league games volition forfeit. ___

Associated Press Sports writers Tim Reynolds, John Wawrow, Jay Cohen, Ralph Russo and Tom Canavan contributed to this report.

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