Coronavirus: San Francisco Crowd Ban Hits Giants, Warriors

Updated at 7:20 p.m.

The NBA on Wednesday night that it has suspended its season until further notice do to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. It made the decision after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for COVID-19. ESPN reports the player is All-Star center Rudy Gobert.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The city of San Francisco issued a two-week ban on all gatherings of more than 1,000 people in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, city officials said Wednesday.

The Public Health Order to prohibit all large events follows recommendations issued last week by the city's Department of Public Health, which encouraged social distancing to stop person-to-person transmission of COVID-19

"We know that this order is disruptive, but it is an important step to support public health," Mayor London Breed said in a statement.

"We're following the recommendations of public health officials to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

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The measure will directly impact the San Francisco Giants and Golden State Warriors, who issued statements shortly after the city’s announcement pledging to fully cooperate with the directive.

The Giants announced the cancellation of an exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics scheduled for March 24.

The Warriors will play Thursday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets before an empty arena.

This order mirrors actions being taken by other local governments and is informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines," Breed said.

On Monday, Santa Clara County issued a ban on mass gatherings that will force the San Jose Sharks to either cancel their next three home games, play in front of an empty arena, or move the games elsewhere.

The exhibition game against the A's at Oracle Park was the only large event scheduled at the ballpark during the two-week period covered by the ban.

The team said it is working with MLB and the A's to finalize alternative arrangements.

The A's and Giants typically play exhibition games against each other prior to the start of the MLB regular season.

If the ban is lifted by next month and the Giants are able to host games, the team's home opener at Oracle Park is scheduled for April 3.

"The health and safety of our community is of the utmost importance to us," the Giants said in a statement. "We have been in close coordination with Major League Baseball and our local health and government agencies to monitor and plan for any potential impacts of COVID-19."

The Warriors said in a statement that all other events at Chase Center, including three concerts, will be canceled or postponed through March 21.

The team said it will offer full refunds to people with tickets to its Thursday home game or Sunday's scheduled Santa Cruz Warriors game against the Austin Spurs, which is being moved to the G League team's Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz.

The Warriors announced the plan to play home games without fans shortly after the city of San Francisco announced a two-week ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people.

The NBA has also taken steps to reduce the potential spread of the virus, restricting locker room access for credentialed media members.

"We will continue to monitor this evolving situation closely to determine next steps for future games and events," the team said in a statement.

"We appreciate the understanding and patience of our fans, guests and partners during this unprecedented time."

The Giants exhibition game against Oakland has not been cancelled as of yet. The team could remain at its Scottsdale, Arizona, spring training facility to play the exhibition game against the A’s, according to a KNBR report.

The two teams are also scheduled to play an exhibition game in Oakland on March 23, although the status of that game is in doubt, too.

The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on sporting events has left athletes with more questions than answers.

“I just don’t know what it would look like,” Giants catcher Buster Posey said at Scottsdale Stadium on Wednesday, according to the KNBR report.

“If you do postpone the games, how long are we talking?” Posey said. “How long can you push it back? So we’re playing games at Christmas? There’s still a lot to be figured out here.”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr told Connor Letourneau, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Warriors beat writer: "We have to limit our interactions with big crowds.”

“We're trying to do all of that in the learning and going about our day. There's no question now that everybody's lives will be affected by this.”

— Patch editors Gideon Rubin and Bea Karnes and Bay City News contributed to this story