The National Hockey League has decided to put the season on hold as the United States tries to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Additionally, Major League Baseball announced their plan to postpone the start of their season for the same reason.
The NHL’s decision came on Thursday afternoon, one day after the National Basketball Association made the same call because a player tested positive for the virus.
Prior to announcing the suspension of the season, the NHL had already canceled morning skates and practices for Thursday. The front office also encouraged teams to start working with their stadiums to see if there is summer availability in case the season needs to extend into those months.
MLB announced their plan to suspend the start of their season by a minimum of two weeks, while canceling every upcoming spring training baseball game. The 2020 World Baseball Classic qualifier games were also suspended.
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While no NHL player has tested positive for the coronavirus thus far, viruses have been known to spread quickly in hockey locker rooms. In 2014, the league had a mumps outbreak. Three-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time NBA MVP Sidney Crosby was the 14th NHL player to test positive for that virus at the time.
The only American professional athletes to test positive for the coronavirus so far include two Utah Jazz starters: Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Gobert tested positive on Wednesday, which was the catalyst for the league suspending its season.
The Major League Soccer season was also temporarily suspended on Thursday. Several NCAA conference tournaments have been canceled, and March Madness is set to be played with no fans in attendance.
COVID-19 cases have appeared on every continent except Antarctica since the virus first appeared in Wuhan, China, last year. Worldwide, nearly 128,000 people have tested positive for the virus, and it has killed at least 4,717 people. In the U.S., more than 1,300 people have been infected with at least 35 deaths.
