Series Of Sports Cancellations, Two Celebrity Cases Help Drive Home Seriousness Of Coronavirus Threat

The Associated Press: Americans Snap To Attention On Virus As Big Events Canceled
A basketball tournament, with no fans. A St. Patrick’s Day, with no parades. College campuses, with no students. Corporate headquarters, with barren cubicles. The nation snapped to attention on Wednesday as the new coronavirus was declared a pandemic, stocks slid into bear market territory and the American public finally began to come to grips with the outbreak. The NBA said it would suspend its season until further notice. President Donald Trump held a rare prime-time address from the Oval Office to calm the public. (3/12)

The Wall Street Journal: NBA Suspends Season Due To Coronavirus
The National Basketball Association season was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday night after a dramatic incident in which two teams were pulled off the court seconds before a game began and a player for the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus. Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz players were moments from beginning their scheduled game on Wednesday when the abrupt postponement occurred after Jazz superstar Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. He became the first major professional athlete infected in the U.S. (Cohen, 3/11)

CNN: NBA Season Suspended After Player Tests Positive For Coronavirus
Players for both teams were on the court at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City for warm-ups but were called back to the locker rooms. The NBA said the affected player was not in the arena and the test results were reported shortly before tip-off. “The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice,” the NBA said in a statement. “The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.” (Close and Jackson, 3/12)

The Hill: NCAA Basketball Tournament To Be Played Without Fans 
The NCAA announced Thursday that its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, known as March Madness, will be played in nearly empty venues due to the concerns of the spread of the coronavirus. “The NCAA continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 in consultation with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement. (Johnson, 3/11)

The New York Times: Tom Hanks Says He Has Coronavirus
The actor Tom Hanks said on Wednesday that he and his wife, Rita Wilson, have the coronavirus. Mr. Hanks and Ms. Wilson, both 63, are in Australia, where he was set to film a movie about the life of Elvis Presley. “We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches,” the Academy Award-winning actor said in a statement. “Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers, too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus, and were found to be positive.” (Sperling, 3/11)

CNN: Tom Hanks And Rita Wilson Diagnosed With Coronavirus 
“Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?” he wrote. (Gonzalez, 3/12)

The Washington Post: Tom Hanks Says He And Rita Wilson Have Coronavirus
“Rita had some chills that came and went,” he continued. “Slight fevers too. To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive.” A representative for Hanks confirmed the news as shared on social media. Hanks is the first American celebrity to publicly announce a diagnosis of the novel coronavirus. His statement was posted across platforms just minutes after President Trump addressed the growing severity of the pandemic, and around the same time the NBA announced it would be suspending its season due to a Utah Jazz player testing positive. (Rao, Butler and du Lac, 3/11)