Apr 10 (Japan Times) - The Osaka Evessa announced Tuesday that three more of their players have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of infected players and team officials to eight.
The Evessa became the first B. League club to suffer infections by the coronavirus on April 2 when they announced that an unnamed player had tested positive the previous day.
Two players belonging to the West Division club tested positive on Sunday, while another was added to the list on Monday. A club official also has the pneumonia-causing virus.
Osaka has more infected players than any other professional sports team in Japan. None of the players' names have been revealed.
Asked why the club has hesitated over publicizing the list of infected players, President Naoki Yasui said in a video news conference on Wednesday that it needs to protect the players' privacy rights and cannot disclose their identities without their consent.