A top U.S. health official has recommended that the NBA should play games without fans, as the coronavirus continues to spread around the country.
Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said any event that allows large crowds increases the risk of spreading the virus, which is also known as COVID-19. Fauci said, “We would recommend that there not be large crowds. If that means not having any people in the audience when the NBA plays, so be it. But as a public health official, anything that has large crowds is something that would give a risk to spread.”
The NBA’s board of governors is reportedly planning to meet Thursday to discuss the possibility of moving games to neutral cites and cities that have not yet been impacted by the coronavirus. Other possibilities include removing fans from arenas for games and suspending play for a period of time, but those options are “complicated” while timetables for testing or vaccines are unknown.
The NBA is one of four major sports leagues to restrict media members and non-essential personnel from locker rooms. Players have also been recommended to limit contact with fans.
