The NCAA is preparing for possible coronavirus impacts on March Madness, as U.S. health officials warn the outbreak could cause "severe" disruption to Americans' everyday lives.

"NCAA staff continues to prepare for March Madness but we are keenly aware of coronavirus and will continue to monitor in coordination with state/local health authorities and the CDC," NCAA associate director of communications Chris Radford told USA Today, which was the first to report that the NCAA's Sports Science Institute issued a pair of memos to its members related to the virus.

The memos directed readers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for resources as they prepare for the upcoming basketball tournaments, which start March 17.

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The memos said staff would implement health and safety checklists in conjunction with the host schools.

"As they would with any public health crisis, championships staff will add appropriate safeguards in coordination with campus and local health response teams to address COVID-19 concerns," one memo said.

The NCAA added that the participating schools "have the primary responsibility for ensuring that actionable plans are in place to guide local response to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 among school personnel or a related exposure incident at an on-campus event."

The NCAA did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

CDC has warned that the outbreak could affect schools and sporting events.

"It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illness," said Nancy Messonnier, director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

President Trump on Wednesday warned schools to be prepared for the virus.