(Kapag kumalat ang COVID-19 sa players) NBA ITITIGIL

MAPIPILITAN ang NBA na itigil ang 2019-20 season nito kapag kumalat ang coronavirus disease, ayon kay Commissioner Adam Silver.

Sa kanyang pagsasalita sa TIME 100 Talks, sinabi ni Silver na kumpiyansa ang liga sa plano nitong muling pagbubukas ng season sa Orlando sa Disney World campus sa Hulyo. Subalit kapag kumalat ang virus sa mga player at tauhan ng Florida, wala aniyang magagawa ang liga kundi ang itigil ito.

“Never full steam ahead no matter what,” ani Silver. “One thing we are learning about this virus as much is (it’s) unpredictable, and we and our players together with their union look at the data on a daily basis. If there were something to change that was outside of the scope of what we are playing for, certainly we would revisit our plans. We are testing daily. We haven’t put a precise number on it but if we were to see a large number of cases and see spread in our community, that would of course be a cause to stop as well.”

Sinabi ni Dr. Anthony Fauci sa isang testimonya sa Washington, D.C. na higit siyang nabahala sa pag­lobo ng kaso ng COVID-19 sa Florida, Texas, California at Arizona.

Aniya, ang NBA ay masusing nakikipag-ugna­yan sa medical experts at plano nitong baguhin ang mga panuntunan at rekomendasyon base sa lahat ng available na impormasyon.

“We are going to see as we go,” sabi ni Silver “Certainly if cases are isolated, that’s one thing. A lot of the determination will be our understanding of how our community became infected. That will be part of our judgment in terms of whether we should continue. But certainly if we had a lot of cases, we are going to stop. You cannot run from this virus.”

“I am absolutely convinced that it will be safer on this campus than off this campus because there aren’t many situations that I am aware of where there is mass testing of asymptomatic employees,” dagdag pa niya hinggil sa plano ng NBA na ituloy ang laro sa Walt Disney World Resort.

“In some ways, this is maybe a model for how other industries can ultimately open. But I am only going to say we will be responsible and watch what is happening, but the biggest indicator will be if we begin to see a spread in our community.”