The NBA restart could potentially have long term health problems on players who tested positive for COVID-19 before entering the bubble.
Almost all NBA teams are already inside the bubble in Orlando. Many of them have started team practice and are settling in nicely. Unfortunately, the looming cloud of total NBA suspension still hovers above their heads. Be that as it may, the focus of the teams is how to survive the NBA restart and win the championship.
The entire league is on the lookout for any possible breach of the bubble. It takes only one infected person to shut down the entire league fort this season. As such, teams also have to focus on their players’ health and even more so for those that have tested positive for COVID-19.
NBA restart could jeopardize careers
According to several doctors of the NBA, the restart could pose serious risks to players that have successfully recovered from COVID-19. NBA athletes are required to perform at the top of their capacity day in and day out. Unfortunately, the effects of COVID-19 to previously afflicted players are still unknown.
The NBA has put in place strict rules for any player that has tested positive for COVID-19. Once a player has been confirmed to have the virus, he has to be placed in quarantine for at least fourteen days. After this, he still has to be reconditioned to play. A player has to miss at the very least 21 to 25 days.
All these precautions are put in place because the long-term effects of COVID-19 are pointing to cardiac health problems.
Fatal cardiac problems
Earlier studies are saying that COVID-19 poses a serious threat to cardiac health. Nothing has been concluded yet, but the league is putting teams on notice. It said,
“the complete clinical picture of COVID-19 and potential effects on cardiac health, including myocarditis in particular, are not yet fully understood, and may be modified in the future to reflect new information”
Be that as it may, the league is not taking any risks. John Difiori, the director of sports medicine for the NBA, is studying the effect of COVID-19 on players. He said,
“We know that individuals who contract viral illnesses of a number of different types can develop myocarditis. It’s fairly uncommon, but we also know that exercise and training with a possible underlying concern for myocarditis can be a major concern. So, we have to be very cautious with that possibility.”
The team of NBA doctors will study each case on a player by player approach. Each person can be affected by the virus in different ways. As such, the entire league is working round the clock during the NBA restart.
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