Florida's Coronavirus Numbers Go Up as NBA Prepares for Season
2020-06-19
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1The number of coronavirus infections in the Orlando, Florida, area has increased in recent days.
2The National Basketball Association, NBA, hopes that is not important.
3That is because the NBA plans to start the professional basketball season that had been postponed.
4The NBA has spent weeks putting together safety requirements for basketball players to avoid spreading or becoming infected with the coronavirus.
5Twenty-two of the NBA's 30 teams are expected to play at a sports complex owned by Walt Disney near Orlando.
6Basketball is almost back.
7"No one is suggesting that this is going to be an infection-free, guaranteed environment," Michele Roberts told The Associated Press.
8She is director of the National Basketball Players Association.
9"Where else would we go," she asked, saying there is really no place in the country that is safe.
10New safety rules were released this week.
11Players will be invited to wear what the NBA calls a "proximity alarm."
12The alarm will go off when the person is within two meters of another person for more than five seconds.
13The idea is to get players to follow social distancing rules.
14Players and officials also will be given thermometers and other devices so they can follow their health information and record it on the NBA's daily health website.
15"I am optimistic about the NBA's return-to-play policies," said Denver coach Michael Malone.
16He found out in May that he had already had COVID-19 after taking an antibody test.
17"They are going to do whatever it takes to make this the safest environment as possible,"he said.
18Malone added that there will still be a risk.
19The NBA agrees that no plan can be perfect.
20The organization said players and fans might become infected.
21But by following the rules, the NBA and the players hope the risk will be small.
22There will be a lot of testing.
23No one can leave the Disney area unless they agree to a quarantine.
24Visitors are not permitted, and families cannot come to the area until late August.
25While he would prefer to be practicing near his home, Miami center Bam Adebayo said, "We'll be happy to play basketball."
26The NBA's arrival at Disney comes as the rate of coronavirus infection around the state of Florida is increasing.
27Officials such as Governor Ron DeSantis are hearing criticism for re-opening many parts of the state's economy.
28In Orange County, which includes Orlando, the rate of infection has doubled in seven days.
29As of early this week, state officials said that Orange County's infection rate was 11.9 percent.
30That is almost 10 times the infection rate of 1.4 percent on June 3.
31"It's concerning but not surprising," Roberts said.
32"I've watched this governor behave as if the virus is an inconvenience" and not a virus.
33DeSantis has said the number of infections in Florida is rising because there is more testing.
34The state's head agriculture official, Nikki Fried, tweeted Tuesday that DeSantis "has lost control" of the virus in Florida.
35DeSantis is a Republican; Fried is the only elected Democrat to hold a statewide office.
36I'm Susan Shand.
1The number of coronavirus infections in the Orlando, Florida, area has increased in recent days. The National Basketball Association, NBA, hopes that is not important. 2That is because the NBA plans to start the professional basketball season that had been postponed. 3The NBA has spent weeks putting together safety requirements for basketball players to avoid spreading or becoming infected with the coronavirus. Twenty-two of the NBA's 30 teams are expected to play at a sports complex owned by Walt Disney near Orlando. 4Basketball is almost back. 5"No one is suggesting that this is going to be an infection-free, guaranteed environment," Michele Roberts told The Associated Press. She is director of the National Basketball Players Association. "Where else would we go," she asked, saying there is really no place in the country that is safe. 6New safety rules were released this week. Players will be invited to wear what the NBA calls a "proximity alarm." The alarm will go off when the person is within two meters of another person for more than five seconds. The idea is to get players to follow social distancing rules. 7Players and officials also will be given thermometers and other devices so they can follow their health information and record it on the NBA's daily health website. 8"I am optimistic about the NBA's return-to-play policies," said Denver coach Michael Malone. He found out in May that he had already had COVID-19 after taking an antibody test. "They are going to do whatever it takes to make this the safest environment as possible,"he said. 9Malone added that there will still be a risk. 10The NBA agrees that no plan can be perfect. The organization said players and fans might become infected. 11But by following the rules, the NBA and the players hope the risk will be small. There will be a lot of testing. No one can leave the Disney area unless they agree to a quarantine. Visitors are not permitted, and families cannot come to the area until late August. 12While he would prefer to be practicing near his home, Miami center Bam Adebayo said, "We'll be happy to play basketball." 13The NBA's arrival at Disney comes as the rate of coronavirus infection around the state of Florida is increasing. Officials such as Governor Ron DeSantis are hearing criticism for re-opening many parts of the state's economy. In Orange County, which includes Orlando, the rate of infection has doubled in seven days. 14As of early this week, state officials said that Orange County's infection rate was 11.9 percent. That is almost 10 times the infection rate of 1.4 percent on June 3. 15"It's concerning but not surprising," Roberts said. "I've watched this governor behave as if the virus is an inconvenience" and not a virus. 16DeSantis has said the number of infections in Florida is rising because there is more testing. 17The state's head agriculture official, Nikki Fried, tweeted Tuesday that DeSantis "has lost control" of the virus in Florida. 18DeSantis is a Republican; Fried is the only elected Democrat to hold a statewide office. 19I'm Susan Shand. 20The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 21________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23proximity- n. nearness 24alarm- n. a buzz or siren that alerts people that something is wrong 25thermometer- n. a device used for taking a person's temperature 26optimistic- adj. to look at the good possibilities 27quarantine - n. the state of isolation for a person with a contagious disease 28inconvenience- n. a minor interruption in one's routine