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“San Jose has been one of the most affected cities,” Andrade said.

“We’re getting cancellations left and right. The whole city is quiet. We’re in Silicon Valley here, but people are being told not to travel. There was a Facebook city-wide event, a Blackberry (conference) that have been cancelled. People are being told to protect themselves and people are scared of what’s going on because there’s no vaccine to treat it.

“You see it on the streets. People are staying home, they’re not driving or going out now. There are fewer people in the malls and shopping centres.”

Motivational speaker Tony Robbins is booked at the SAP Center for five days next week, but he hasn’t been able to convince large groups to cancel their trips to the city.

Earlier in the week, Santa Clara County emergency operations centre director James Williams advised hockey fans against going to the SAP Center.

“It’s not just a question of Sharks games,” Williams told the San Jose Mercury News. “There are many organizations that host large gatherings. We have an obligation to make this apply to everyone. The bottom line here is people aren’t in spaces where they’re among many, many other people without being able to keep a distance from others.”

Despite the warnings, the Sharks went ahead with Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, which drew a season-low crowd of 14,500. The Sharks are also playing host to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.

The Sharks have advised fans to listen closely to the health department’s suggestion that “persons at higher risk avoid mass gatherings such as parades, sporting events and concerts where large numbers of people are within arm’s length of one another.”

The Sharks also announced that elaborate cleaning procedures are in effect.

“Particular attention is paid to high-traffic, high-public content areas and many areas are receiving additional enhanced cleaning measures during events,” according to a Sharks statement.

kwarren@postmedia.com

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