Former NBA star Jeremy Lin tests positive for Covid-19 in Shanghai quarantine

Basketball player has been vaccinated and had returned two negative tests, before he left the US and after he arrived in China
He says on social media that ‘it’s a struggle to feel sick while being away from home and to be patient with my circumstances’

Coronavirus pandemic

Minnie Chan

Published: 2:19pm, 7 Aug 2021

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Former NBA star Jeremy Lin has tested positive for Covid-19 on his third day of quarantine in Shanghai on Saturday, after flying in from the United States.

It is not known whether the 32-year-old has the highly transmissible Delta variant.

Lin said he had been vaccinated and had returned two negative tests – before he left the US and after he arrived in China – as he confirmed the news in Chinese and English on his Weibo and Instagram social media accounts.

“After over a year away, I was excited to get back to Asia and see my friends and fans on my annual summer tour,” the Taiwanese-American basketball player wrote. “Mentally, it’s a struggle to feel sick while being away from home and to be patient with my circumstances.”

He also urged people to get vaccinated against Covid-19, despite “breakthrough” cases like his where people get infected even after getting a jab.

“There are so many people around the world that would love to be vaccinated and it could be the difference between mild symptoms and something a lot worse,” he wrote. “For those vaccinated, I know we’re all tired of dealing with Covid precautions but please continue to be careful!! These new variants are no joke and your health is so precious. We’re gonna get through this together.”

The NBA veteran shot to global stardom while at the New York Knicks in early 2012, where the “Linsanity” period began as he led the Knicks to seven consecutive wins, but he has not played in the league since 2019.

He starred in the recent G League season with the Golden State-affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors but was not offered an NBA contract, ending his dream of a return to the league.

Lin played for the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association in the 2019-20 season, taking the team to the play-offs during the Covid-19-impacted season and adding to his popularity with Chinese fans. He announced in June that he would return to Beijing for next season.

Lin wrote in Chinese on Weibo that the experience of having Covid-19 had made him cherish what he had even more. “No matter where I spend my career in the future, I will work harder and happily play for the people I love and those who love me,” Lin said.

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Jeremy Lin says he has realised his childhood dream in China

It comes as China is grappling with its worse surge in Covid-19 cases in months, an outbreak fuelled by the Delta variant that has now reached 17 provinces. More than 600 people have tested positive since the first infections were reported at an airport in Nanjing last month.

While the transmission rate remains relatively low, authorities are scrambling to contain the outbreak with mass testing, lockdowns, restrictions on travel and other measures as they press ahead with a “zero tolerance” approach.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Covid-19 setback for Jeremy Lin in Shanghai