Leagues around the world take safety precautions

Sports leagues and federations across the world are addressing the coronavirus outbreak.

On Wednesday, the NBA suspended play indefinitely after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive. Some NHL games will be played in empty arenas. Major League Baseball has made no official announcement.

Leagues in other parts of the world are taking action by canceling events and playing in empty stadiums.

Los Angeles County officials have discussed the possibility of banning spectators from attending sporting events in an effort to slow the spread. The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, one of the top tennis tournaments in the world, was canceled Sunday. UCLA and USC will bar spectators from home games for the foreseeable future.

Here is a sport-by-sport look at what leagues and federations are doing:

NBA: Announced the decision to suspend the season, which will go into effect Thursday, after a bizarre scene in Oklahoma City, where a game between the Thunder and the Utah Jazz was delayed seconds before tipoff and canceled 35 minutes later. The NBA announced that a player on the Utah Jazz had “preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19” but added that the “affected player was not in the arena.” .

MLB: The San Francisco Giants-Oakland Athletics exhibition game scheduled for March 19 will not take place at Oracle Park after San Francisco Mayor London Breed banned public events attended by 1,000 people or more for the next two weeks. The teams are working with the league on an alternative arrangement. The Seattle Mariners said it was seeking “alternative plans” for their first two series of the season after Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state of Washington was banning large gatherings through the end of March.

NFL: NFL Media reported March 3 that the league was “closely monitoring developments” related to the coronavirus and that it is planning to hold the NFL draft in Las Vegas on April 23-25. The NFL’s annual meeting, which is attended by team owners, general managers and coaches, is still scheduled for March 29-April 1 in Palm Beach, Fla.

NHL: The Columbus Blue Jackets became the first NHL team to say it would play in an empty arena, announcing that it will abide by a mandate from the state of Ohio that prohibits mass gatherings. The San Jose Sharks announced that their home games March 19 against the Montreal Canadiens, March 21 against the Boston Bruins and March 24 against the Arizona Coyotes “will be played as scheduled at SAP Center but will be closed to the general public.” The NHL released a statement that said it was “continuing to consult with medical experts and is evaluating the options.”

NCAA: The March Madness tournaments for men’s and women’s basketball will be played in near-empty arenas. Division III basketball tournament games were held over the weekend in an empty venue at Johns Hopkins. Several men’s and women’s conference tournaments are being played in empty arenas. The remainder of the Pac-12 basketball tournament will be played without spectators. Many colleges have closed athletic events to spectators.

MLS: The San Jose Earthquakes postponed their March 21 home game against Sporting Kansas City and the Seattle Sounders their home game March 21 against FC Dallas.

Auto racing: A six-foot buffer between NASCAR drivers and media members will be enforced and access to meetings and equipment will be limited to only necessary personnel . ... The Long Beach Grand Prix is still schedule for April 17-19. IndyCar’s sanctioning body said in a statement that it does not expect any changes to its season opener, which takes place Sunday in St. Petersburg, Fla . ... In Formula One, spectators are banned from attending the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 22. The Chinese Grand Prix, scheduled for April 19, has been postponed.

Figure skating: The World Figure Skating Championships, scheduled in Montreal from March 16-22, has been canceled.

Golf: The PGA Tour announced March 4 that it has no plans to alter its schedule; the LPGA has canceled events scheduled for Thailand, Singapore and China.

High schools: The Los Angeles Unified School District directed principals and athletic directors to close games to all spectators. Many other area school districts have done the same. The CIF said it would have an announcement Thursday morning regarding the status of the basketball state championship tournament; the finals are scheduled for Sacramento this weekend.

International Ice Hockey Federation: The women’s world championships, scheduled for March 31-April 10 in Canada, have been canceled.

International Olympic Committee (Tokyo 2020 Olympics): The IOC has insisted on numerous occasions that the Summer Games in Tokyo, scheduled to begin July 24, will take place as planned. But officials in Greece have barred spectators from the traditional lighting of the Olympic torch, scheduled for Thursday, and multiple qualifying events have been canceled.

International soccer: All games in France’s Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 will be played in front of a maximum of 1,000 spectators until April 15 . ... FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation have postponed World Cup qualifiers in March and June . ... In Italy, Juventus confirmed that defender Daniele Rugani tested positive for the virus and will go into isolation. All sporting events have been canceled in Italy until at least April 3 . ... The next two rounds of games in Spain’s La Liga will be played in empty stadiums . ... The German Bundesliga is playing select games in empty stadiums . ... In England, Wednesday’s Premier League game between Arsenal and Manchester City was postponed as a “precautionary measure” after several Arsenal players went into self-isolation. The players’ action came after Evangelos Marinakis, owner of Greek club Olympiacos, tested positive for the virus.

Korean and Japanese baseball leagues: The Japanese baseball league postponed the start of its season, which had been scheduled for March 20. The league had been playing exhibition games with no spectators. The South Korean league canceled its exhibition games and has not committed to starting its regular season March 28 as scheduled.

Tennis: The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells was canceled, as well as the WTA’s Kunming Open, which was scheduled for April 27-May 3 in Anning, China, and Xi’an Open in China, on April 13-19. The men’s tour canceled two events in China and another in Italy.

World Cup Skiing: The finals in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, scheduled for March 18-22, have been canceled.

XFL: The L.A. Wildcats will play the Seattle Sea Dragons on Sunday at CenturyLink Field without spectators.

Times staff writers Kevin Baxter, Tania Ganguli, Soumya Karlamangla, Jeff Miller, Helene Elliott, Houston Mitchell, Nathan Fenno, Eric Sondheimer, Jack Harris and Bill Shaikin contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed.