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| Seen is the Yongin Gymnasium during the WKBL match between Samsung Blueminx and Busan BNK Sum on Sunday. The game was played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus. / Yonhap |
By Jhoo Dong-chan
The nation's professional football league announced earlier this week that it has decided to postpone the opening of the 2020 K League indefinitely due to mounting health concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
Following the K League's announcement, the Korean Basketball League (KBL) said Tuesday that the ten teams of the men's league will play the remainder of their games this season "behind closed doors" ― meaning without any spectators in the audience ― to prevent the spread of the virus.
The KBL is currently on midseason break, with the 2019-2020 season scheduled to end in April. Their decision was echoed by the Women's KBL and volleyball's V-League to avoid putting players and fans at risk.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is reportedly contemplating rescheduling this year's league. The Opening Games of the 2020 regular season were scheduled to be held on March 28, following the exhibition matches on March 14. It seems likely that these dates will also be postponed due to the coronavirus.
"Both the government as well as the private sector are committed to doing their utmost to prevent the further spread of the virus," said a K League official.
"We will wait to see how the virus cases turn out, and will announce the league's schedule when the epidemic subsides."
Other professional sports have also decided to scale back on games or finish their leagues earlier than planned.
The Korea Handball Federation canceled this year's postseason playoff games, bringing the 2019-2020 season so a close ahead of schedule.
The World Team Table Tennis Championships ― the largest table tennis tournament in the world ― which was originally slated to run from March 22 to 29 in Busan, has also been shelved indefinitely, as the Gyeongsang region has been hit hardest by the virus outbreak.
Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don said the city authorities were considering postponing all sporting events in the region.
As of Wednesday morning, 1146 people were confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus, with 11 fatalities. Eight additional cases were confirmed in Busan overnight.
On Sunday, the South Korean government declared the 'highest alert' for the nation as cases of the virus rose sharply in just a few days.
The country has seen by far the highest numbers of coronavirus cases outside of China since the 31st case was confirmed mid last week.
