Report: Miami (Ohio) Postpones Basketball Games Due to Potential Coronavirus Threats
Miami (Ohio) has postponed an upcoming pair of basketball games due to potential coronavirus threats, according to Stadium's Jeff Goodman.
Goodman reports the school is "being cautious" and waiting for the test results for two students who recently returned from China.
The Redhawks announced that Tuesday's men's basketball game against Central Michigan and Wednesday's women's basketball game against Western Michigan have been postponed. Both contests will be made up at a later date, and tickets for these games will be honored on the makeup date.
The Ohio Department of Health announced two possible cases of coronavirus are under investigation, and the students were tested for the virus. The Butler County General Health District said the students are not "severely ill" and are being kept in isolation to keep the virus from spreading. The immediate health risk to Miami University's campus is low.
The outbreak of the new coronavirus is being closely monitored after it was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and continues to spread globally. As of Tuesday morning, more than 4,500 cases have been confirmed in China, and 106 people have died.
The United States is on alert after five cases of the virus have been confirmed–two in Southern California, one in Washington, one in Arizona and one in Chicago. Other countries affected include Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, France, Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Cambodia.
NBC News reports most cases are associated with travelers from Wuhan, China, but "there has been evidence of person-to-person transmission in Germany and Japan."