NHL Advises Teams Cancel Thursday Practices, Meetings Amid Coronavirus Concerns

The NHL advised teams against holding morning skates, practices and team meetings Thursday amid concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

While the NHL has yet to suspend operations, it released a statement Wednesday and noted that a further decision would be announced at some point Thursday:

The NBA officially announced Wednesday night that its season had been suspended after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the coronavirus:

Although the NBA did not name the player, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported it was All-Star center Rudy Gobert.

The NHL played its full slate of five games Wednesday, and 10 games are still scheduled to be played Thursday.

Of those, the Columbus Blue Jackets' home tilt with the Pittsburgh Penguins is set to be played without fans in attendance. The Blue Jackets announced the news after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine banned spectators from attending sporting events to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

According to CNN, the World Health Organization has reported there are over 124,500 documented cases of coronavirus worldwide and it has caused more than 4,600 deaths. There are also 1,200 known cases in the United States.

The 2019-20 NHL regular season is nearing its conclusion, as every team has played at least 68 of their 82 scheduled games, while some have played as many as 71.

The regular season is currently set to conclude on April 4, and the playoffs would start shortly thereafter.