In wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Major League Soccer has suspended match play for 30 days with immediate effect.
Per the statement from MLS:
Major League Soccer has suspended match play for 30 days, effective immediately, as the league continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 with its medical task force and public health officials.
At the appropriate time, the league and clubs will communicate plans for the continuation of the 2020 season and update the status of league events.
“Our clubs were united today in the decision to temporarily suspend our season – based on the advice and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and other public health authorities, and in the best interest of our fans, players, officials and employees,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “We’d like to thank our fans for their continued support during this challenging time.”
At the time of this reporting, there have been over 127,000 reported cases of the disease worldwide with 4,718 fatalities. In the USA, there have been 1,323 reported cases with 38 deaths and eight known recoveries. Canada has reported 117 cases.
This comes as many a league around the world are either suspending play or playing in front of empty stadiums as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The National Basketball Association suspended all league play from Wednesday night after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the disease.
We at Prost Amerika cannot emphasize enough that you listen to local and state health authorities during this time as well as maintain healthy habits such as washing your hands, not touching your face, and staying at home if you possibly can. Right now, the safety of every person in the world is of paramount importance and containing the spread of the disease buys the health profession time to find a way to treat the disease.
