Los Angeles Lakers’ Victory Celebrations Led to Spike in COVID-19 Infection

The Los Angeles Lakers earned the victory in the NBA 2020 Finals this month. It was a great moment for the fans of the Lakers. It was expected that there would be celebrated throughout the city after that. And after that, the Lakers are in the news again, due to a sudden spike in the spread of infection throughout LA. 

The cases of COVID-19 were declining before the final match between Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. However, once they won it, the city started to see a rise in the numbers.  

Los Angeles Lakers Blamed by the Public Health Authority

It’s not like the Public Health Department of Los Angeles wasn’t monitoring the events; they had already issued guidelines to the fans and citizens of LA on celebrations. But the team’s fans were not interested in the rules and guidelines. And the results of that negligence are before us now. Following is the tweet that was posted by LA Public Health’s Twitter handle: 

Health Advisory: High Risk of #COVID19 Transmission at Gatherings and Public Celebrations.
View https://t.co/5xTDPGrx4E for more. pic.twitter.com/2t5cqysZyz

— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) October 27, 2020

What Does LA Public Health Dept. Says?

The officials noted that the number of positive cases spiked on 12th October, one day after the Lakers vs Miami Heat match. The cases showed a consistent trend during the week, but the real spike was witnessed on the first weekend after the 11th October’s Finals.

The officials of the LA Public Health Department had declared that before the Finals, there were almost 1000 daily cases reported, but the number rose to 1500 post the celebrations. That’s why they think the Lakers fans are responsible for the spike in the cases of LA County. Many fans were observed not wearing masks during the celebrations, which is a violation of the basic COVID-19 guideline.  

“It is impossible to determine the exact exposures that contributed to this increase. However, it is highly likely that gatherings to watch and celebrate the Lakers, along with any other gatherings that occurred 2-3 weeks ago where people weren’t wearing face coverings and were in close contact with each other, contributed to the rise in LA County cases.

As fans continue to watch and celebrate the mighty LA sports teams, we are mindful that if individuals are not adhering to the health officer order requirements of distancing, infection control and masking, cases will continue to rise which, unfortunately, not only leads to increased illness and death but also slows down our recovery journey,”

–  Los Angeles Public Health Department

Another problem that’s looming over Los Angeles County is that the LA Dodgers, another sports team is currently playing the World Series and is about to win the game. If they win the game, there will be more celebrations, and eventually, more cases reported. 

It appears that COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere before 2020, so better would be to adhere to basic protocols. If you are a fan, don’t risk it all with momentary carelessness. Stay safe. Wear Masks. Follow us for more NBA coverage.