Amid concerns about the further spread of the coronavirus in China, foreign players in the Chinese Basketball Association were sent home in January for the Lunar New Year Holiday. Now, the with positive signs coming out of the country regarding the containment of the virus, the CBA's American players are now being told to return and prepare for the league to continue by April 1.
A memo was also sent by the CBA to its teams regarding the restart of the league, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
“All clubs and teams are requested to prepare for the restart of CBA League as early as April 2. At the same time, all teams should comply with the relevant requirements of the national and local epidemic prevention and control departments, continue to strengthen the epidemic prevention and control work, do a good job in making detailed and solid security measures such as epidemic prevention and control, and ensure the health and safety of club and team members. Details of the restart will be notified separately.”
There are approximately 40 American players across the 22 teams of the CBA, including former NBA players like Jeremy Lin, Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansborough and Lance Stephenson among others.
The American players have also been informed that, as they return to China, they will be required to spend 14 days in quarantine. Some players have stated that they do not plan to return to China any time soon due to safety concerns, while the U.S. Department of State has already issued a travel advisory telling Americans to not travel to the country.
Moreover, per Givony's report, CBA teams are threatening lifetime bans to players who will refuse to play. Their agents could also reportedly lose their license for two to three years if the players don't comply.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic. Worldwide, there have been over 125,000 confirmed cases with more than 4,600 deaths so far. As for China, the county currently has 80,790 coronavirus cases which is more than the rest of the world combined.
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