The NBA Has Finally Returned

By: S. Bueno

To the joy of all Basketball fans worldwide, and particularly those who follow the NBA, the month of August saw the restart of the 2020 Season. There was some light at the end of the dark Covid-19 tunnel, as players started to head back to basketball courts across the USA.
In August, many playoffs were organized. The first game actually took place between the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz on July 30th, resulting in a win for the Utah Jazz!
The second game of the playoffs was a local derby between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
It had been four and a half months since a game had been played. The NBA has suffered greatly due to the Covid-19 virus and many key players have tested positive. The NBA League had to introduce strict medical protocols to ensure that players were safe when playing.
Some of these medical protocols are quite interesting and include the following:

• All staff members are required to wear a proximity alarm which sounds if two members of staff are within six feet (1,83 meters) of one another. Players have been given the option to wear the device as well.
• There are strict regulations involving using disinfectant to sanitize all of the basketballs used.
• Players are quarantined together and if they break quarantine rules, they have to be tested for COVID-19, and if found positive and consequently missing a game, they do not receive any salary for that game.
• Showers are not available in the locker rooms and players will have to wait to return to their hotels to take a shower.
  

It is to great joy that the NBA has come back, however with strict medical precautions to provide the best possible safety for our outstanding players. Needless to say, we are waiting expectantly to know when we can restart our Basketball training at School. The Lions are really enthusiastic to restart our activities and to continue winning medals and trophies for St. Paul’s.