Sports groups and their players were not left out – Monday saw several announcements regarding the protocols each league has put in place for competitors and staff.
With 10 additional players and staff in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the league has postponed its next two Chicago Bulls games.
This is the first time this season that NBA games have been postponed due to Covid-19 concerns.
Players in the protocol must quarantine for 10 days or take two negative tests in a 24-hour period.
The Bulls were due to host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and then travel to Toronto to face the Raptors on Thursday.
Team officials said tickets for Tuesday’s game will be valid for the match when rescheduled.
No makeup dates have been announced.
A league source told CNN last week that 97% of NBA players have been vaccinated, with 60% of eligible players receiving a booster dose. There are about 500 players in 30 lists.
No major professional sports league in the United States has required its players to be vaccinated.
NHL sees third team affected
The Calgary Flames postponed at least their next three games after the National Hockey League announced on Monday that six players and one staff member had entered the league’s Covid protocol within a 24-hour period.
NHL officials said there was concern about the virus continuing to spread throughout the team by warning that “additional positive cases are likely in the coming days.”
On Monday morning, the Flames, who sit second in the Pacific Division, announced Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangyapan, Brad Richardson, Adam Rozica, Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov as six players who entered protocol.
This is the third time this season that the NHL team has had to stop its season suddenly due to the outbreak of the disease within the team. The Ottawa senators announced on November 15 that they would close their training facilities and postpone three games when at least 10 players entered the NHL’s Covid-19 protocol.
Later in November, two New York Islanders’ games were postponed due to multiplayer in the Covid protocol.
Flames facilities have been closed indefinitely. The affected games have not yet been rescheduled.
NFL Wants to Boost Staff After Christmas
Level 1 and Level 2 employees are coaches and anyone who has direct contact with the players. This authorization does not apply to NFL players.
The latest publicly released testing data from the NFL showed 29 players tested positive between November 14-27.
On December 2, the league announced that 94.4% of its players had been vaccinated along with “nearly 100%” of other individuals.
Heading into their high-profile showdown with the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football, the Los Angeles Rams put five players on the Reserve/Covid-19 roster, including linebacker Galen Ramsey and tight end starter Tyler Higby.
The NFL said its review of allegations that players “misrepresented their vaccination status” supported those claims.
CNN’s Kevin Dotson, Gillian Martin, and David Close contributed to this report.