Spurs have 4 players positive, Atlanta has All-Star concerns
The San Antonio Spurs are dealing with a coronavirus outbreak among four players, the NBA said Tuesday, meaning the team will not play until the middle of next week at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms — whose city was picked to play host to the NBA All-Star Game and skills competitions on March 7 — raised major concerns about the notion of fans coming to the city for the events.
“People should not travel to Atlanta to party,” she said.
The NBA on Tuesday postponed five more games: the next three for the Spurs — at Cleveland on Wednesday, at New York on Saturday and at Indiana on Monday — as well as the next two for the Charlotte Hornets while contact tracing is completed.
The Hornets were scheduled to play host to Chicago on Wednesday and Denver on Friday. Their games have been halted because they were the last team to play the Spurs, losing to them on Sunday. The league is reviewing data to see if any Hornets may have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, a process that takes time.
Charlotte’s next possible game is now Saturday at home against Golden State, in what would be Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s annual return to North Carolina, where he grew up. San Antonio’s next possible game is Feb. 24 at Oklahoma City, meaning the Spurs will have more than a week between contests — joining Washington and Memphis as teams to endure such a situation this season.
Charlotte coach James Borrego said “there’s no indication that anybody” on the Hornets’ roster is positive for COVID-19. But the Hornets finished their game with the Spurs with just eight
available players, and Borrego confessed that he doesn’t know what his roster will look like if Saturday’s game goes on as scheduled.
“The league is doing everything they can to gather information and even more information,” Borrego said. “They’re going to watch us over this next week and make sure we’re OK. I think that’s really where it starts.”
The postponements announced Tuesday push the total of games that have been moved back this season because of positive tests or contact tracing issues to 29, including the Spurs’ game at Detroit that was to have been played Tuesday night. The NBA called that game off on Monday.
Also postponed: Detroit at Dallas, scheduled for Wednesday, now off be
cause of the severe winter weather that has hit Texas — where more than 4 million homes and businesses were without power Tuesday in subfreezing temperatures. The Mavericks had to call off practice Tuesday because of a power outage, and Dallas guard Josh Richardson said he didn’t have power at his home.
Meanwhile, two games were added to this week’s slate: Detroit will go to Chicago on Wednesday and Denver will now play at Cleveland on Friday. Those games were originally targeted for the second half of the season. The NBA has said it will shuffle some games, when possible, to accommodate the need to reschedule postponed games in the second half.
The NBA does not reveal which players tested positive, but its announcement of the latest postponements said the Spurs had positive tests among players — and did not mention coaches. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich announced last month, on his 72nd birthday, that he has received the vaccine that protects against the effects of COVID-19.
The Spurs were without just one player — guard Quinndary Weatherspoon — for their game Sunday against Charlotte because of the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James, two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and others have spoken out in recent days to express their unhappiness about the idea of playing an All-Star Game during a pandemic — and wedging it into an already jam-packed and truncated season.
The NBA told teams Monday that strict protocols will be in place for the All-Star events; players will be allowed a very limited number of guests, all participants must travel to Atlanta by private car or plane, and for the most part players will be allowed to leave their hotels only for All-Star events at the arena.
Tickets will not be sold. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported earlier this week that some vaccinated frontline workers will be invited to attend, but there will not be events for the general public — an obvious change from past All-Star weekends, which tend to attract tens of thousands of fans for the game, parties and atmosphere.
“Under normal circumstances, we would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to host the NBA All-Star game, but this is not a typical year,” Bottoms said. “I have shared my concerns related to public health and safety with the NBA and Atlanta Hawks. We are in agreement that this is a made-for-TV event only, and people should not travel to Atlanta to party.”
Is there a cure for overactive bladder? R.H.
ANSWER: The underlying reason for overactive bladder is not well understood, and although there are medications to treat symptoms, there is not a cure for the condition.
The main symptoms of overactive bladder are urinary symptoms, especially urgency (the need to go RIGHT AWAY), increased urinary frequency (this may include symptoms at night), and incontinence. Before considering medication, there are other treatments to try. These include weight loss if appropriate, pelvic floor exercises, bladder training and, in women, evaluation for vaginal atrophy. In men, it can sometimes be difficult to separate prostate symptoms from overactive bladder.
It may be treated with anticholinergic drugs such as oxybutynin. These are modestly effective, but can have side effects such as dry mouth. Recent studies have also implicated anticholinergic drugs as a possible factor in dementia. For these reasons, anticholinergic drugs are used only when necessary and at the lowest effective dose.
Another medicine option in the beta-3 drug mirabegron (Myrbetriq). It can increase blood pressure and should not be used in a person with uncontrolled high blood pressure. Otherwise it is safe and about as effective as the anticholinergic drugs.
Botulinum toxin and nerve stimulators are sometimes used in people can’t take or tolerate the medication. Surgery is considered as a last resort.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 74-year-old man. A year ago, my triglyceride reading was 197. Two weeks ago, it was 301. After being pretty sedentary, I started walking 2 miles at least five days a week about eight months ago. I would think this would have caused my triglycerides to go down. A week before the blood test, my doctor had me taking prednisone for a chest infection. I read that prednisone may make triglycerides go up. Do you think this may have caused the big increase? -- G.C.
ANSWER: Prednisone, a glucocorticoid related to cortisone, has many effects on different tissues and metabolic processes. Some of the most important ones include increases in blood pressure and blood sugar, but when taken long term, it makes people susceptible to weight gain and adverse effects on the skin, and increases infection risk by suppressing inflammation.
It also may cause changes to the cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Fortunately, short-term use should not increase your risk of heart disease. Keep up your daily walking. A follow-up check of your cholesterol and triglycerides after finishing the prednisone is probably a good idea.
Reducing simple sugars and starches are the most important dietary changes to keep tri
glycerides down.
DEAR DR. ROACH: Is it advisable or inadvisable to take naproxen sodium at the time of COVID-19 vaccination to alleviate potential side effects of the vaccine? -- B.S.
ANSWER: Although some studies have shown that people who get a fever reducer such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) at the time of a vaccine have lower antibody titers, not all studies have shown this, and those that have still showed an adequate antibody level. Booster vaccines showed a “robust” response.
Having had the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine myself and in observing many of my colleagues, I would say very few have had systemic side effects, such as fever, bad enough to be concerning. A sore arm has generally been the worst. Anecdotally, however, the second vaccine does seem to cause more side effects, perhaps a bit more than a typical flu vaccine but less than the new shingles vaccine.
If you have had side effects of this or other vaccines, taking acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen beforehand is reasonable; otherwise, I would wait a few hours to see if you need one.
Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Heavy snowfall blanketed the Acropolis and other ancient monuments in Athens, caused power cuts and halted COVID-19 vaccinations in the Greek capital on Tuesday as the weather brought many services across the country to a standstill.
Greek media reported that three deaths in separate parts of the country were linked with the bad weather. State ERT TV said two elderly men with breathing problems died after their mechanical respiratory aids stopped working due to power cuts, and a farmer on the island of Crete was found dead in a snow- covered area near his sheepfold.
While western Europe got some respite from winter weather, temperatures plunged in the southeast of the continent and storms also battered Turkey.
The snow, an unusual sight in the Greek capital of more than 3 million residents, also stopped most public transport services. Hundreds of toppled trees downed power cables, causing blackouts in several suburbs, while one area on the city’s northern fringes was declared in a state of emergency for the next month. Some of the affected suburbs were also left without water.
Snow is common in Greece’s mountains and in the north of the country, but much rarer in the capital. Some Athenians emerged cautiously outside, snapping photos on balconies and in the streets.
The snow arrived as Athens and several other parts of Greece remain in lockdown to curb coronavirus infections. Schools and most stores are closed, and residents must stay indoors during a nightly
curfew.
Some children skipped online classes Tuesday to play in the snow. Adults also went out to play, with some digging out skis to use on the capital’s hilly slopes. One man skied along Pnyx hill in central Athens, near the Acropolis.
Norwegian Ambassador Frode Overland Andersen tweeted a video of himself skiing down a hill in the suburb of Filothei with his teenage daughter.
“Challenge accepted,” he wrote, after a friend in Oslo challenged him to prove it really was possible to ski in Athens.
“It was the best day at my home office during the lockdown so far,” the ambassador told The Associated Press. “Sadly, my skis took a rather hard beating, so I will be waxing and prepping for next season.”
Outside the parliament building, orange snowplows cleared streets of ice and snow, while presidential guards, dressed in traditional pleated kilts and pompom- tipped shoes, were given heavy woolen overcoats.
The cold snap, which has already caused snowstorms around much of Europe, kept temperatures hovering around freezing in Athens on Tuesday but was expected to lift abruptly with highs of 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit) expected on Thursday.
In neighboring Turkey, heavy snow and blizzards forced the closure of a highway in northwest Turkey. Around 600 vehicles were stranded on a nine-kilometer (six-mile) stretch of the snow-covered road, and another 800 other vehicles were stranded elsewhere, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.