Leagues prepare for coronavirus chaos
NEW YORK: One of the busiest periods on the North American sport calendar could be thrown into disarray with the coronavirus threatening to disrupt a host of major events from the Masters to March Madness.
March and April are traditionally exciting and hectic times for sports fans in the United States and Canada but as Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Opening Day and National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) play-offs approach, the coronavirus outbreak is slowly casting a cloud over the fun.
Unlike some other countries, no sporting events have been cancelled or postponed in North America but ESPN reported on Monday that the NHL is prepared to reschedule games or play them in empty arenas if the outbreak posed a significant health threat.
“We have to consider and plan for all contingencies — and we are,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told Reuters.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Washington state rose to 27 on Tuesday, including nine deaths, the state Department of Health reported, while the number of cases in the United States was at least 108.
The flu-like coronavirus that originated in China late last year has killed more than 3,000 people, infected over 86,500 globally and is forcing the cancellation or postponement of numerous sporting and other events.
MLB, NBA, NHL and other sporting organizations such as the PGA have all said they are closely monitoring the situation and taking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organisation (WHO).
Many leagues and sports, however, have implemented short-term recommendations to limit the spread of the virus officially known as SARS-CoV-2, causing an illness called Covid-19.
The NBA told players in a memo on Monday they should fist-bump with fans instead of high-fiving them and avoid taking items to autograph.
“The coronavirus remains a situation with the potential to change rapidly,” the league told its 30 teams in the memo obtained by Reuters.
With Opening Day set for March 26, ESPN reported that MLB issued a similar memo on Tuesday telling players to avoid taking balls and pens from fans to sign.
MLB also said it had created a task force to deal with complications that could arise in the coming months.
The NCAA, US college sports governing body, said on Tuesday that it had established an advisory panel of “leading medical, public health and epidemiology experts” in response to the outbreak”.