As the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep around the globe, almost all of of the top tier sports leagues have gone into almost complete lockdown. The four major leagues in North America have all been affected, and it seems almost certain the impact rise over the coming weeks.
Here’s the latest state-of-play in the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB with regards to the coronavirus outbreak.
Raiders player confirms COVID-19 symptoms
Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Quentin Polin appears to be the first NFL player to contract COVID-19. Polin confirmed on Twitter earlier this week that his doctor has informed him that he is showing all the signs of a coronavirus infection.
He recently visited Spain with his family, but upon his return to the US he came down with multiple symptoms including fluid in his lungs, sore throat and dry cough. The NFL has been closely monitoring the coronavirus situation and has already postponed the league’s off-season training program.
Bettman calls a halt to the NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman called a halt to proceedings in the NHL with 189 games of the regular season still left to play. The Boston Bruins remain the favorites at https://gg.bet/en/betting-sports/ to win the Stanley Cup, but there are serious doubts at this point about whether the playoffs will even take place or not.
All team meetings and practices have been barred as the NHL tries to avoid contributing to the spread of coronavirus. This comes in the wake of an unnamed Ottawa Senators player having now tested positive for the virus with more cases expected to be confirmed over the coming days.
Durant amongst NBA stars to test positive
Kevin Durant was one of four Brooklyn Nets players who has been confirmed as having tested positive for coronavirus. It brought the total number of COVID-19 cases in the NBA to seven – effectively one out of every 65 players in the league.
The players’ having access to the tests while most in America do not has attracted criticism in certain quarters, with many critically ill patients in the US still waiting to find out if they have contracted the virus or not. Some teams used private healthcare providers to test their players, further highlighting the difference between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ in the American health care system.
MLB delays the start of the season
Major League Baseball bosses have delayed the start of the 2020 regular season until at least the middle of May due to coronavirus concerns. MLB initially announced it was pushing opening day back until April 9, but subsequently decided for further postponement.
Team owners remain confident that they can still complete a full 162-game season, even if the action doesn’t get underway until the start of June. However, with many health agencies saying that the coronavirus pandemic could be a long-term issue, people connected to MLB may have to revise their thinking.