FLA. LOTTERY
SUNDAY, FEB. 28
Infectious disease experts are expressing concern about Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to Iraq, given a sharp rise in coronavirus infections there, a fragile health care system and the unavoidable likelihood that Iraqis will crowd to see him.
No one wants to tell Francis to call it off, and the Iraqi government has every interest in showing off its relative stability by welcoming the first pope to the birthplace of Abraham. The March 5-8 trip is expected to provide a sorelyneeded spiritual boost to Iraq’s beleaguered Christians while furthering the Vatican’s bridge-building efforts with the Muslim world.
But from a purely epidemiological standpoint, as well as the public health message it sends, a papal trip to Iraq amid a global pandemic is not advisable, health experts say.
Their concerns were reinforced with the news Sunday that the Vatican ambassador to Iraq, the main point person for the trip who would have escorted Francis to all his appointments, tested positive for COVID-19 and was self-isolating.
In an email to The Associated Press, the embassy said Archbishop Mitja Leskovar’s symptoms were mild and that he was continuing to prepare for Francis’ visit.
Beyond his case, experts note that wars, economic crises and an exodus of Iraqi professionals have devastated the country’s hospital system.
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” said Dr. Navid Madani, virologist and founding director of the Center for Science Health Education in the Middle East and North Africa at Harvard Medical School’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The Iranian-born Madani co-authored an article in The Lancet last year on the region’s uneven response to COVID-19, noting that Iraq, Syria and Yemen were poorly placed to cope, given they are still struggling with extremist insurgencies and have 40 million people who need humanitarian aid.
In a telephone interview, Madani said Middle Easterners
are known for their hospitality, and cautioned that the enthusiasm among Iraqis of welcoming a peace-maker like Francis to a neglected, war-torn part of the world might lead to inadvertent violations of virus control measures.
“This could potentially lead to unsafe or superspreading risks,” she said.
Dr. Bharat Pankhania, an infectious disease control expert at the University of Exeter College of Medicine, concurred.
“It’s a perfect storm for generating lots of cases which you won’t be able to deal with,” he said.
Organizers promise to enforce mask mandates, social distancing and crowd limits, as well as the possibility of increased testing sites, two Iraqi government officials said.
The health care protocols are “critical but can be managed,” one government official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.
And the Vatican has taken its own precautions, with the 84-year-old pope, his 20-member Vatican entourage and the 70-plus journalists on the papal plane all vaccinated.
The World Health Organization was diplomatic when asked about the wisdom of a papal trip to Iraq, saying countries should evaluate the risk of an event against infection, and then decide if it should be postponed.
As Miami was staying one step ahead of an exceptional Utah Jazz team on Friday, it was a reminder of how formidable this Heat team looked in the NBA’s Disney bubble, with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic collectively and simultaneously playing like All-Stars.
“It feels we are right back from the bubble,” Dragic said after that 124-116 win against Utah. “We have to be realistic. I don’t know how many games we three guys played together. It’s not much.”
Dragic nailed the salient point here.
Butler, Adebayo and Dragic — the three most critical pieces of the Heat’s 2020 run to the NBA Finals — entered Sunday night’s game against Atlanta having played just 10 games together and just 79 total minutes as a trio this season, the equivalent of less than two full games.
And here’s why that matters: During the playoffs last season, the Butler-Adebayo-Dragic trio logged 352 minutes of court time in 17 games and Miami outscored
teams by 83 points and shot 47.7 percent from the field and 38.8 percent on threes during those 352 minutes.
Aside from four different three-man Los Angeles Lakers lineups, no trio of teammates outscored teams by that large a margin during the 2020 postseason.
“Hopefully,” Dragic said, “we can try to stay on the floor together and get back to that bubble Miami Heat.”
The season has been bumpy for Dragic, who has missed 14 games — two because of health and safety protocols, three because of a strained left groin and nine because of a sprained ankle. He scored 26 points on 9for-15 shooting Friday in his second game back from the ankle injury.
“I feel great,” he said. “I feel confident enough. I’ve been through a lot. This is my 13th year in the league. I just need consistency. Protocol, ankle injury, been up and down for me. Hopefully, now I can play with the team. I know how to play basketball. That’s not a
problem.”
Butler framed his good friend’s contributions this way: “Goran does the same thing I do — just a little bit better. I’m a little better defender than Goran. He’s getting older. He scores, gets everyone easy shots, directing traffic, telling everyone where to go. It’s really impressive seeing him play basketball. He doesn’t worry how many points he scores or assists; he’s just trying to win the game. That’s what I love about him.”
Dragic, in his 19 games and six starts, is now averaging 15 points and 5 assists (down slightly from last season because his minutes are down slightly) and shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 37.5 percent on threes, both up slightly from a year ago.
“You can tell we’ve missed Goran,” Adebayo said.
The Butler/Adebayo/ Dragic lineup, in those 79 minutes this season, has outscored teams by 12 points. Since the beginning of the 2019-20 regular season (Butler’s first with the Heat), Miami has outscored teams by 154 points when those three are on the floor together, or by 8.2 points per 48
minutes.
“You see progress,” Dragic said. “Now we feel great. We’re back to the Miami Heat basketball we want to play.”
As a member of the Heat, Dragic has scored at least 20 points in 22 games off the bench, equaling Kevin Edwards’ franchise record.
BUTLER OUT
Butler missed Sunday’s game against Atlanta with right knee inflammation.
The Heat entered Sunday with a 3-9 record without Butler this season and 13-8 with him. He previously said that he contracted COVID-19 earlier this season, causing him to miss 10 games.
“He went through shootaround and it didn’t loosen up the way we wanted it to,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We wanted to be proactive about it. He’ll be day to day from here.”
Spoelstra called it a “minor thing.”
Butler is averaging 20.1 points and career highs in rebounds (7.8) and assists (also 7.8).
During the Heat’s ongoing 9-3 stretch, Butler has averaged 21.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.8 steals. Miami has outscored opponents by
9.1 points per 100 possessions with Butler on the court and has been outscored by 10.3 points per 100 possessions when Butler has not been on the court during this 12-game span.
Guard Tyler Herro returned after missing three games with a hip contusion.
THIS AND THAT
Hawks forward Solomon
● Hill, who played meaningful minutes for the Heat during last year’s NBA Finals, said Miami never made him an offer during the offseason.
After squandering a
●
big lead in an overtime loss in Golden State, the Heat entered Sunday’s game having won five straight. So what changed after that game?
“We were tired of getting our [butt] kicked,” Adebayo said. “That’s the best way I can put it. There was no other way to put that. Everybody kind of counted us out kind of like last year — didn’t expect us to be good. We are … trying to keep stacking these Ws.”