The National Basketball Association has suspended the regular season indefinitely after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19, the league announced Wednesday.
The ban came into effect following the end of Wednesday night's action after the contest between the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings was canceled over virus concerns with one of the referees.
League owners are encouraging commissioner Adam Silver to re-evaluate the suspension within 30 days, sources tell ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports the NBA is expected to make an announcement regarding an initial timetable soon.
The G League also suspended the rest of its regular season "in response to the coronavirus pandemic," it said in a statement.
Jazz center Rudy Gobert is the player that tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus. The game between Utah and the Oklahoma City Thunder was canceled after the players were pulled off the court prior to tipoff.
Thunder players were allowed to leave Chesapeake Energy Arena following the incident, but the Jazz were quarantined and will need to coordinate with health officials before returning to Utah, according to ESPN.
Gobert had been ruled questionable for the contest after feeling ill. The 27-year-old Frenchman mocked the coronavirus on Monday by touching microphones during a press conference.
Players from the teams the Jazz played within the past 10 days are reportedly being told to self-quarantine, which includes the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, and Toronto Raptors.
The NBA will use the hiatus to determine the next steps for dealing with the pandemic.
"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, according to Reynolds. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we’ll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."
There are over 118,000 cases of the coronavirus around the world with over 4,000 deaths, according to the CDC.
