NBA Tells Teams To Plan For Coronavirus, Empty Arenas

The NBA "delivered teams a Tuesday deadline to have several precautionary measures in place" regarding coronavirus. The NBA -- which will "conduct a conference call Monday night with team doctors and trainers -- is calling for teams to have an infectious disease specialist on call, a nearby testing facility for the coronavirus, and a roster of essential employees who have close physical contact with players." The league "wants teams to make sure each has a plan for scaled-down team traveling parties too" (ESPN.com, 3/7). The memo told teams to "prepare in case it becomes necessary to play games without fans or media." It also said that teams "should identify which team and arena people would be necessary to conduct games, and be able to communicate quickly with non-essential staff, as well as ticket holders and corporate partners" (AP, 3/7).