Blue Jackets to Play Home Games with Fans Despite Governor's Coronavirus Warning

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Tuesday they will continue to play home games as scheduled despite Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's recommendation that all sporting events in the state go on without spectators in response to the coronavirus outbreak, per ESPN.com:

"The Columbus Blue Jackets are aware of the recommendation by Governor DeWine. We have been in contact with the National Hockey League and, given the facts before us, it has been determined that our scheduled games, including this Thursday vs. Pittsburgh and Saturday vs. Nashville, will go on as scheduled and be open to ticketed fans that wish to attend."

Gov. DeWine recommended Tuesday that all colleges cancel in-person classes and that sporting events and concerts be held sans fans, per Jeremy Pelzer and Laura Hancock of Cleveland.com. He also recommended that people refrain from visiting prisons. 

"We're now at a critical time here in Ohio in regard to the coronavirus," he said. "The decisions that we make as individuals in the next few days, the next several weeks will really determine how many lives are going be lost in Ohio."

Per CNN.com, over 113,000 people have been infected and over 4,000 people have died as a result of the coronavirus. According to the New York Times, there are three confirmed cases in Ohio.

Numerous events in Ohio have been canceled or otherwise adjusted due to the coronavirus.

Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden canceled primary-night rallies in Cleveland, per the Associated Press.

The Arnold Sports Festival took place from Thursday through Saturday in Columbus without fans, although spectators were allowed on Sunday.

The Mid-American Conference also announced that its women's and men's basketball tournaments in Cleveland will be held without spectators. 

"Only credentialed institutional personnel, student-athlete family members, credentialed media, television and radio crews, and official team party members will be permitted for attendance for the tournaments," the conference said in a statement.

Upcoming scheduled sporting events in the state include the NCAA Division I men's basketball First Four round on Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18 as well as NCAA men's tournament games in Cleveland later that week.

As far as whether those games may be impacted, the NCAA released a statement Tuesday:

"The NCAA continues to assess how COVID-19 impacts the conduct of our tournaments and events. We are consulting with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel, who are leading experts in epidemiology and public health, and will make decisions in the coming days."

The Blue Jackets have five home games remaining on their regular-season ledger, starting with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. Matchups with the Nashville Predators on Saturday and Washington Capitals on Thursday, March 19 follow. They finish out the string with a March 30 date with the New York Islanders and an April 2 game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Columbus currently occupies the first wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, so postseason games are also possible but not guaranteed as five teams within five points of each other fight for two wild-card positions.