The National Basketball Association (NBA) on Thursday announced that eight new players have been tested positive for novel coronavirus in the latest round of testing.
NBA, in a statement, said that as many as 541 players were tested since December 2.
"Of the 541 players tested for COVID-19 since Dec 2, 8 new players have returned positive tests," the sports governing body said on Thursday.
"As previously announced, 48 players returned positive tests during the initial return-to-market testing phase from November 24 to December 1," the official statement further read.
NBA further said that anyone who has returned a confirmed positive test is isolated until they are cleared for leaving isolation under the rules established by the apex body and the Players Association in accordance with CDC guidance.
Meanwhile, NBA Academy India graduate Riyanshu Negi has signed with the DME Sports Academy, a prep school in Daytona Beach, Florida, becoming the fourth male student-athlete from NBA Academy India to commit to a high-school or college basketball program in the U.S.
NBA Academy India is an elite basketball training center for the top prospects from throughout India and the first of its kind in the country and is supported by official partner ACG.
Negi joined NBA Academy India in 2017 as part of the inaugural class of student-athletes identified through the ACG-NBA Jump Program.
The 18-year-old shooting guard from Roorkee, Uttarakhand has been part of multiple basketball development camps orgsed by the NBA, including the 2017 and 2018 NBA Academy Games and the 2017 NBA Asia Pacific Camp in China.
"This opportunity with DME Sports Academy will be a new challenge for me, and I am optimistic that it will add new dimensions to my game. I would like to thank the coaching staff at NBA Academy India and my fellow teammates who pushed me to become a better version of myself every day," Negi said in an official release.
( With inputs from ANI )
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