Let me be clear here that there are no confirmed reports of Caronavirus in Central Ohio. However, with some news filtering in on other sporting events that have already been affected, the chance is there that it could impact Ohio State athletics should the virus be found in and around the OSU campus.
We’ve already seen Miami (OH) postpone both a men’s and women’s basketball game while it awaits test results to see if a couple of students who had recently traveled to China are positive for the virus. Those results are expected later this week. In addition, there are confirmed reports that the Chinese women’s soccer team is now being quarantined in Brisbane, Australia in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
Men's basketball game on Tuesday and women's basketball game on Wednesday are postponed.https://t.co/GC6JVNgjHf#RiseUpRedHawks pic.twitter.com/nL7m9vxSVe
— Miami Athletics (@MiamiRedHawks) January 28, 2020
So, the virus that’s getting so much attention in the media is already impacting the sporting world. It’s not a major impact, but that could change if things spread further.
But what if the Caronavirus did make its way to Central Ohio? One would have to assume that further steps would have to be taken, and that it would have an impact on athletic events at Ohio State if the virus hit close enough to home.
Since inquiring minds want to know, we reached out to the Ohio State athletic department to see if they had a comment on the matter. As it stands now, it appears as though things are status quo, but that could change based on information from health officials.
“We are not considering anything like that at this time because there are no cases in Central Ohio and the recommendation of our local, state and federal public health officials is that no changes in activities are necessary,” said an OSU athletic department spokesman.
That all makes sense, and hopefully there’s no reason to have to act further. You can bet OSU officials are on top of things should anything similar happen at Ohio State.