[ti:Florida’s Coronavirus Numbers Go Up as NBA Prepares for Season] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The number of coronavirus infections [00:03.72]in the Orlando, Florida, area has increased in recent days. [00:10.28]The National Basketball Association, NBA, [00:15.12]hopes that is not important. [00:19.76]That is because the NBA plans to start [00:24.00]the professional basketball season that had been postponed. [00:30.24]The NBA has spent weeks putting together safety requirements [00:35.40]for basketball players to avoid spreading [00:39.52]or becoming infected with the coronavirus. [00:44.40]Twenty-two of the NBA's 30 teams are expected [00:49.80]to play at a sports complex owned by Walt Disney near Orlando. [00:57.04]Basketball is almost back. [01:01.40]"No one is suggesting that this is going to be an infection-free, [01:06.88]guaranteed environment," Michele Roberts told The Associated Press. [01:13.44]She is director of the National Basketball Players Association. [01:19.08]"Where else would we go," she asked, [01:22.44]saying there is really no place in the country that is safe. [01:29.12]New safety rules were released this week. [01:33.24]Players will be invited to wear what the NBA calls a "proximity alarm." [01:40.48]The alarm will go off when the person is within two meters [01:45.36]of another person for more than five seconds. [01:49.28]The idea is to get players to follow social distancing rules. [01:56.40]Players and officials also will be given thermometers and other devices [02:02.32]so they can follow their health information [02:05.68]and record it on the NBA's daily health website. [02:11.80]"I am optimistic about the NBA's return-to-play policies," [02:17.32]said Denver coach Michael Malone. [02:20.32]He found out in May that he had already had COVID-19 [02:26.20]after taking an antibody test. [02:30.32]"They are going to do whatever it takes [02:32.76]to make this the safest environment as possible,"he said. [02:38.92]Malone added that there will still be a risk. [02:43.92]The NBA agrees that no plan can be perfect. [02:48.48]The organization said players and fans might become infected. [02:55.44]But by following the rules, the NBA and the players [02:59.76]hope the risk will be small. [03:02.32]There will be a lot of testing. [03:05.84]No one can leave the Disney area unless they agree to a quarantine. [03:12.16]Visitors are not permitted, [03:14.80]and families cannot come to the area until late August. [03:20.88]While he would prefer to be practicing near his home, Miami center [03:26.32]Bam Adebayo said, "We'll be happy to play basketball." [03:32.84]The NBA's arrival at Disney comes as the rate of coronavirus infection [03:38.56]around the state of Florida is increasing. [03:42.24]Officials such as Governor Ron DeSantis are hearing criticism [03:47.76]for re-opening many parts of the state's economy. [03:52.08]In Orange County, which includes Orlando, [03:56.64]the rate of infection has doubled in seven days. [04:02.00]As of early this week, state officials said [04:05.16]that Orange County's infection rate was 11.9 percent. [04:10.56]That is almost 10 times the infection rate of 1.4 percent on June 3. [04:19.36]"It's concerning but not surprising," Roberts said. [04:23.80]"I've watched this governor behave as if the virus [04:27.64]is an inconvenience" and not a virus. [04:32.84]DeSantis has said the number of infections in Florida is rising [04:37.72]because there is more testing. [04:41.52]The state's head agriculture official, Nikki Fried, [04:46.00]tweeted Tuesday that DeSantis "has lost control" of the virus in Florida. [04:52.28]DeSantis is a Republican; [04:54.68]Fried is the only elected Democrat to hold a statewide office. [05:00.60]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM