U.S. health official recommends NBA play without crowds due to coronavirus risk

Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that he would recommend the National Basketball Association play their games without a crowd because of the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak.

"We would recommend that there not be large crowds, if that means not having any people in the audience when the NBA plays, so be it," Fauci said. "But as a public health official, anything that has large crowds is something that would give a risk to spread."