[ad_1]
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, set a schedule on Monday for when sports teams will likely be able to pack stadiums and arenas again.
The NBA will be the first major sport to make a second comeback this year as the pandemic threat continues to grow and, according to Dr Fauci, it will be some time before arenas like the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. be sold. outside.
READY OR NOT, NBA TRAINING CAMPS ARE READY TO OPEN ONCE
“We are going to vaccinate the people with the highest priority [from] from the end of December to January, February, March, ”Fauci told Yahoo Sports in an interview published Monday. “By the time you get to the general public, the people who are going to basketball games, who have no underlying conditions, it will start at the end of April, May, June.”
He continued, “So it’ll probably be fine in the late summer before you can really feel comfortable. [with full sports stadiums] – if a lot of people get vaccinated. I don’t think we will be this normal in July. I think it would probably be at the end of the summer.
Fauci was more optimistic about the NFL next season, which in a normal year begins with preseason games in August, saying he thinks it’s “possible” for crowded stadiums at that time. .
IN THE MIDDLE OF PANDEMIC, NBA GIVES TEAM HEALTH PROTOCOLS FOR THE SEASON
But that will all depend on how often the COVID-19 vaccine is used.
“Having an effective vaccine on its own doesn’t get us out of this difficult situation we find ourselves in,” Fauci said. “But an effective and widely used vaccine could get us to a point where we are really getting close to normal.”
As of Tuesday, the United States had recorded more than 13.5 million cases of the new coronavirus and more than 268,103 deaths, nearly 100,000 more deaths than the second highest death toll in Brazil.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE AT FOXNEWS.COM
The NBA sent a 63,000-word document to teams over the weekend explaining some of the health and safety protocols ahead of the season start on December 22. The plan will still have to be approved by the NBA Players Association, but it will provide the plan. for teams to start training camp this week.
Alexandria Hein and The Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link