NBA Players Are Noticing how Canada is Handling COVID Differently than the United States

The Toronto Raptors have been forced to handle COVID-19 differently than the rest of the NBA as the league's only Canadian franchise

Aaron Rose | Dec 30, 2021

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA — for better or for worse — has certainly taken notice of what the Toronto Raptors are going through this season.

Things have been... well... different as the league's only Canadian team. Precious Achiuwa, for example, was forced into COVID-19 isolation as a close contact of a positive case because of Ontario's COVID-19 rules despite the NBA permitting him to play. If he had played for any other team he would have been allowed to continue playing because he's fully vaccinated. But not in Toronto.

Or take the Golden State Warriors as another example. They decided to let Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins avoid flying to Toronto earlier this month at least in part because of testing issues at the border.

"A lot of people are taking notice," said Fred VanVleet who cleared COVID protocols on Thursday. "People are paying attention to the differences that we are under, whether that be being in Tampa last year or some of the different regulations or rules or stipulations, like having a socially distanced crowd. People see that.”

The Raptors have already had their attendance slashed to 50% due to capacity limitations from the provincial government and there's an expectation those numbers will be reduced even further with a 1,000 person maximum as of Friday.

NEW Premier Ford is meeting with his cabinet, looking at a plan that would see students return to in-person learning on Jan 5, & sports venues capped at 1000 spectators, sources tell me. However what goes into cabinet is not always what comes out, this is still subject to change
— Richard Southern (@RichardCityNews) December 30, 2021

Starting next month, the Canadian government is taking measures even further. As of January 15, unvaccinated professional athletes will be prohibited from entering the country. This isn't an issue for the Raptors who are 100% fully vaccinated, but there are a handful of holdouts including Kyrie Irving who will be barred from entering the country later on this year.

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