Updated Mar 7, 2020 - Sports

Coronavirus disrupts sporting events around the world

Kendall Baker, Rashaan Ayesh

People walking in Milan, Italy, on Feb 25. Photo: Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images

The novel coronavirus is spreading quickly in cities nowhere near Wuhan, China, and has begun impacting a slew of international sporting events as the window to prevent a global pandemic narrows.

The state of play: The alpine skiing World Cup Finals and major Italian cycling races were canceled on Friday as the coronavirus continues to spread, AP reports. The Italian government has mandated all sporting events take place without spectators through April 3.

  • Weightlifting: The Asian weightlifting championships, which double as an Olympic qualifier, in Uzbekistan has been rescheduled to April 16-25, AP notes.
  • Basketball: A D-III game between Yeshiva University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute was played this week without spectators over coronavirus fears, possibly the first game in the U.S. to do so.
  • Baseball: Pre-season games in Japan were played with no fans in the stadium, per USA Today.
  • Soccer: Four Series A soccer matches in northern Italy were canceled, and the government wants future games in areas impacted by the outbreak to be played behind closed doors without fans.
  • Athletics: The World Athletics Indoor Championships, set to take place in mid-March in Nanjing, China, has been postponed until next year.
  • Formula One: The Chinese Grand Prix, originally scheduled for April 19 in Shanghai, has been postponed.
  • Table tennis: The world championship to be held in late March in South Korea has been pushed back provisionally to late June.

What to watch: Japanese officials insist the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will go on as planned, but the coronavirus has already begun to affect preparations, per Intelligencer:

  • "Movement of athletes has been limited, qualifying events have been disrupted, and plans to train tens of thousands of volunteers have been postponed."
  • "There are also emerging questions about how many people will be willing to travel to watch the Olympics. Coronavirus fears have led to a huge drop in tourism to Asia."

Go deeper: Coronavirus outbreak creates hockey stick shortage

Go deeper

Axios

Louisiana governor says state will run out of ventilators on April 9

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that coronavirus modeling projects his state will run out of ventilators on April 9 and hospital beds on April 11.

Why it matters: Louisiana has around 12,500 infected people and 409 deaths. New York is the only state in the country with a worse per capita death rate.

Go deeperArrowApr 5, 2020 - Health
Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

U.S. coronavirus updates: Chicago jail is largest-known source of coronavirus

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Chicago's Cook County jail is the largest-known source of coronavirus infections in the U.S., the New York Times reports. The White House has identified Chicago's metro area as a risk for exponential growth of the virus.

Why it matters: Public health officials have warned this would be a particularly deadly week for America, even as New York began to see declining trends of hospitalizations and ICU admissions.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 2 hours ago - Health
Jacob Knutson

Biden says he'll follow CDC mask guidance: "Listen to the Faucis of the world"

Joe Biden said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that he will follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new recommendation that people wear face coverings when they leave home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Why it matters: After the White House announced the guideline last week, President Trump said he will likely not wear a mask and emphasized that the guidance was "voluntary."

Go deeperArrowApr 5, 2020 - Politics & Policy