New York City’s new mayor Eric Adams doesn’t have any plans to amend the current vaccine mandate that has prevented Kyrie Irving from playing at the Barclays Center.
That was what a spokesperson told NBA insider Chris Haynes on Tuesday. The news was part of an in-game report from Haynes on the TNT broadcast of the Nets matchup with the Phoenix Suns.
“I reached out to New York Mayor Eric Adams and his spokesperson told me there are currently no plans to amend the mandate,” Haynes said during the broadcast, which was blacked out in the New York area. “The spokesperson also added, ‘we will continue to follow the science and the guidance of public health professionals to keep to New Yorkers safe. And we encourage all New Yorkers to get vaccinated and boosted to stop the spread.'”
My @NBAonTNT report on Kyrie Irving and the New York vaccine mandate with a response from the office of NY mayor Eric Adams. pic.twitter.com/PAn0642Gip
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 2, 2022
The response comes amid falling COVID numbers across the city and state. During a press conference in the Bronx on Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the state was “turning the corner” from the winter surge of the virus.
Department of Health numbers show a 92% drop in COVID cases from three weeks ago and infection rates across a seven-day average were 5.9%.
“We believe we’re finally turning the corner on the winter wave. Just like the snow is melting, hopefully these numbers will continue to melt away,” Hochul said Tuesday.
For now, it seems that Irving’s availability will remain limited to the road — aside from games in Manhattan and Toronto. The Nets have three games left on their current five-game road trip.
Including the upcoming three games, the Nets have 13 regular-season contests remaining that Irving is eligible to play in. Entering Tuesday night, Irving had appeared in eight games this year for the Nets and has been averaging 24.5 points per game.
