US: NCAA cancels basketball tournaments over COVID-19

WASHINGTON

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Thursday canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments as well as all remaining winter and spring championships over the coronavirus outbreak.

"This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to the spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities," the association said.

The decision came after the NBA, NHL and MLS suspended their seasons over the virus, officially known as COVID-19, which has infected more than 130,000 people worldwide.

In the United States alone, more than 1,600 people have contracted the virus, while 40 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The global death toll is now over 4,900, with more than 134,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has declared the outbreak "a pandemic."