German First Division basketball players assembled in Munich to end the championship behind closed doors will be strongly urged to wear a bracelet tracked within the framework of the health protocol aimed at avoiding the spread of novel coronavirus.
"If a player or crew member test is positive, we can use this data to find out who has been in contact with him during the past 48 hours," Dr. Florian Kentsinger, responsible for the tournament´s health measures, told sports television station Magenta Sport.
"We have applied this technology as a backup for the worst case scenario," he said, meaning infection with the "Covid-19" virus.
However, the use of the bracelet will be on a voluntary basis, with the name of the owner of the chip in the bracelet borrowed and only doctors responsible for the teams can determine the true identity of the player.
Bayern Munich director of basketball, Marco Basic, told ASB sports that the players will be "strongly urged" to wear the bracelet, but he will not force them to do so, adding, "We hope that everyone understands the reason for doing this." .
Like the Football League, the German Basketball League has set a health protocol and a timetable to end its season, and ten teams have agreed to participate in the three-week championship, all of which have been put in a state of sanitary isolation inside one hotel in Munich.
After the group stage matches (two groups of five teams each), the quarter-finals, semi-final and final rounds are played in the home and away system.
League manager Stefan Holts revealed that the move aims to track players ’movements in order to know who they have communicated with because“ if there is a positive test, the whole group will be in danger. This could mean the end of the tournament. ”
The number of infections with the "Covid-19" virus in Germany as of Saturday reached 183,678 cases, an increase of 407 cases during the past 24 hours, while the number of victims reached 8,646 deaths.
Germany has begun easing restrictions on closures, but has kept the rules for social separation and the need to wear masks in most public places.
