U.S. Soccer is taking precautions to protect against the coronavirus impacting this week's SheBelieves Cup. (Photo by Michael Janosz/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

As the new coronavirus, COVID-19, spreads across the world and puts a range of sporting events on hold, one question stateside has been when the disease might affect an event here.

For U.S. Soccer, that’s a question with some urgency as the federation prepares to host teams from around the world for the annual SheBelieves Cup, which kicks off Thursday. The event will continue as planned, but U.S. Soccer is taking extra measures and precautions to ensure the safety of fans and players.

The reasoning for that is twofold. First, the teams participating in the tournament against the U.S. women’s national team all come from countries with confirmed cases of the coronavirus: Japan, England and Spain. Second, one of the venues for the tournament, Red Bull Arena outside New York City, is in an area with confirmed cases of the infection.

But by consulting with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, or CDC, U.S. Soccer officials say they are prepared to host a successful tournament.

“At this time, the SheBelieves Cup games are going on as scheduled and there are no immediate plans to cancel or postpone games or have them held in empty stadiums,” U.S. Soccer spokesman Neil Buethe told Yahoo Sports. “Our main priority is the well-being of players, coaches, staff and our fans. We are monitoring the situation and if there are any necessary changes, we’ll let fans know as soon as possible.”

U.S. Soccer working with visiting delegations

All the teams participating in the SheBelieves Cup come from countries affected by the coronavirus, the USWNT included.

Japan has around 300 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the fifth-most in the world, not including the outbreak that occurred aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Japan is not on the list of countries where the CDC is restricting travel for Americans. The CDC instead recommends American travelers take “enhanced precautions” if they go there, and citizens of Japan are not restricted from entering the U.S. either.

All members of the Japan Football Association’s delegation for the SheBelieves Cup received health assessments and were cleared to travel before departing from Narita, Japan, according to U.S. Soccer. The delegation arrived stateside on Monday.

The countries of England and Spain both have confirmed cases of the coronavirus as well, with fewer than 50 reports each, but the CDC has not issued any travel warnings for either country.

View photos Japan has had the fifth-most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world, and every member of the country's SheBelieves Cup delegation, including midfielder Yui Hasegawa (pictured), has been medically cleared for the event. (Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) More

U.S. Soccer officials sought assurances from all three federations that players and staff have been medically cleared before coming to the U.S. and that any symptoms associated with the coronavirus must be reported to medical staff immediately.

“Japan is a county that has been a bit more affected, but we've seen a small uptick in cases here in the United States and in Europe as well, so the communication has to be across all four teams in the tournament,” U.S. Soccer’s chief medical officer, George Chiampas, told Yahoo Sports. “We are having direct conversations with all the teams to make sure there’s an increased level of awareness across the board.”

The federation has had “multiple calls with the CDC” to ensure that U.S. Soccer is taking the appropriate measures and ensuring safety for the players, staff and fans, Chiampas added.

Right now, the only travel restrictions urged by the CDC are to China, the epicenter of the outbreak with around 80,000 infections, according to the latest World Health Organization update, along with South Korea (4,200), Italy (1,700) and Iran (1,000). Entry for internationals from China and Iran into the U.S. is currently banned, and those from South Korea and Italy will face additional screening.

Changes to the SheBelieves Cup fan experience