KTLA

Banning spectators from L.A.-area sporting events is a possibility amid coronavirus outbreak

Los Angeles County health officials said banning spectators from sporting events in Southern California could be an “extreme” measure used to combat the coronavirus.(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles County officials have discussed the possibility of banning spectators from attending sporting events in Southern California in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The county declared a health emergency Wednesday as the number of coronavirus cases in the region increased to seven.


“If at any point we think that there’s good reason for us to be worried about extensive, extensive community transmission … we may ask for modifications at large public events,” county health director Barbara Ferrer said. “This could be that games are played but there are no spectators. This could be that there are limits to how people are going to gather at public events. But I want to reassure everyone we are not there today.”

Ferrer called such measures “extreme.”

Read the full story on LATimes.com.