Australian sports begin feeling effects of the coronavirus

Australian sports fans didn't really need a reminder about the coronavirus, but they got one anyway Friday when a number of major events Down Under were affected by concerns over the pandemic. And more are likely to follow.

As the Australian Formula One Grand Prix was being called off in Melbourne, Cricket Australia announced that three one-day international matches between Australia and New Zealand would be played in empty stadiums. The first of the three began Friday afternoon at the 48,000seat Sydney Cricket Ground, where television announcers spoke of the "eerie" silence in the stadium devoid of fans.

Cricket Australia also announced that the women's national team's six-match tour to South Africa would be put off indefinitely.

The National Rugby League said weekend matches would ahead as schedule but the Australian Football League —Australian rules football — said it would hold its first-round matches next weekend in empty stadiums.

The National Basketball League is in its finals series between the Sydney Kings and Perth Wildcats, but will play the matches with no spectators. The national soccer federation said the domestic A-League would continue with its matches.

The organizing group for Super Rugby — which involves club teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and Argentina — said a match on Saturday between the Jaguares and New Zealand's Highlanders would be held in an empty stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Australia's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy made a recommendation to federal and state governments to limit gatherings to fewer than 500 people.