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TONIGHT A POSITIVE TEST OF THE CORONA VIRUS SHUTTING DOWN TONIGHT’S OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER HOME GAME AT THE VERY LAST MOMENT. GOOD EVENING. I’M EVAN ONSTOT. I’M JESSICA SCHAMBACH NOW THE NBA HAS SUSPENDED THE SEASON A MEMBER OF THE UTAH JAZZ TESTING POSITIVE. OKAY, SEE FANS WERE TOLD TONIGHT. YOU WERE ALL SAFE. PLEASE LEAVE THE ARENA IN ORDERLY FASHION. CALCIO IS ABIGAIL OGLE JOINING US LIVE NOW TO WALK US THROUGH WHAT REALLY A BE WERE FRANTIC MOMENTS LEADING RIGHT UP TO THIS THIS BASKETBALL GAME ALMOST PLAYED LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENED LITERALLY SECONDS BEFORE TIPOFF, UTAH. JAZZ PLAYER RUDY. GOBERT WHO ACCORDING TO THE NBA WAS NOT INSIDE THE CHESAPEAKE ENERGY ARENA TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE CORONAVIRUS THE NBA CONFIRMS. HE IS HERE IN OKLAHOMA CITY. HE TRAVELED WITH THE TEAM BUT NOT IN THE ARENA TOTALLY UNPRECEDENTED. WE’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN ALL TEN PLAYERS WERE ON THE COURT READY TO GO FOR TIP-OFF. THE THUNDERS TEAM DOCTOR RUSHED ONTO THE COURT GRAB THE REST BOTH HEAD COACHES. JOIN THIS HUDDLE AND THEN BOTH TEAMS WALKED OFF THE FLOOR WAVING. GOODBYE TO FANS PLAYERS WERE ESCORTED TO THE LOCKER ROOMS. THIS DELAY WENT ON FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES. THEN THE NBA MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE GAME HAD BEEN POSTPONED TO A LATER DATE, BUT NOW WE KNOW THE NBA SEASON HAS BEEN SUSPENDED ESPN REPORTS THAT BOTH TEAMS ARE QUARANTINED LIGHT NOW INSIDE OF THE CHESAPEAKE ENERGY ARENA BEING TESTED FOR THE CORONA VIRUS AND GUYS. COMING UP IN SPORTS. I HAVE A VIDEO. I WANT TO SHOW YOU A RUDY. GOBERT HOW HE MAY HAVE MADE A JOKE, BUT EXPOSED MANY MANY PEOPLE TO THE CORONAVIRUSNY POSSIBLY INFECTING OTHERS THAT COMING UP IN JUST A BIT AND TONIGHT. WE’RE ALSO HEARING FROM THE UTAH JAZZ AS WELL AT THE UTAH JAZZ THE T THE THUNDER WAS SUPPOSED TO PLAY TONIGHT SENDING OUT THIS STATEMENT JUST MOMENTS AGO SEEING A PLAYER TESTED NEGATIVE FOR THE FLU STREP AND AN UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTION. THEY SAID THE NBA AN OKLAHOMA HEALTH OFFICIALS DECIDED TO TEST THE PLAYER FOR CORONAVIRUS AND THAT CAME BACK AS A PRELIM POSITIVE RESULT. THE TEAM SAYS THEY’RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CDC AND OKLAHOMA AND UTAH STATE OFFICIALS. LIKE I SAID, TOTALLY UNPRECEDENTED. IT WAS LITERALLY LIKE WATCHING THE SITUATION DETERIORATE BEFORE OUR EYES SO MANY QUESTIONS AND THEY’RE STILL IN THE ARENA RIGHT NOW AND OBVIOUSLY SO MANY DIFFERENT ANGLES TO THIS STORY THE RIPPLE EFFE

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The Oklahoma City Thunder's game Wednesday against the Utah Jazz was postponed until a later date after the NBA learned that a Jazz player tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. "The test result was report shortly prior to the tipoff of tonight's game between the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena," NBA officials said in a news release. "At that time, tonight's game was canceled. The affected player was not in the arena."Multiple reports indicate that Jazz All-Star Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. The Jazz scratched Gobert from the lineup about an hour before the game was supposed to tip off.Both teams even had gone through their pregame warmups and the staring lineups had already been announced when league officials canceled the game.Confusion filled the arena when an official rushed onto the court just before tipoff, pulled the referees and head coaches together to tell them the result of the player's test and the NBA's decision. Once the discussion ended, both teams left the court and went into their respective locker rooms.About 30 minutes after the teams had left, the arena's announcer alerted fans that the game had been suspended and they had to leave. The announcer and the league did not announce at that time that a Jazz player had tested positive for the coronavirus.Before Wednesday's game, KOCO 5 spoke with Dan Mahoney, vice president of corporate communication for the Thunder, about what the team and Chesapeake Energy Arena had done to ensure fan safety. At the time, he didn't want to give any specifics about what had been done, saying the goal was to protect the health and safety of fans, staff members and players."We've worked with Chesapeake Arena. They've added additional staff who, each morning, are going in, thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the arena," Mahoney said. "There's additional hand sanitizer throughout. Restrooms are fully equipped with soap and water." The news also prompted NBA officials to announce that they have indefinitely suspended the season. "The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice," NBA officials said. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving in regard to the coronavirus pandemic." Officials with Utah Jazz issued a statement:"This morning a player on the Utah Jazz tested negative for influenza, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. The individual’s symptoms diminished over the course of today, however, in a precautionary measure, and in consultation and cooperation with NBA medical staff and Oklahoma health officials, the decision was made to test for COVID-19. "A preliminary positive result came back right before tipoff of the Utah Jazz-Oklahoma City game. Subsequently, the decision was correctly made by the NBA to postpone the game. When it was determined that the individual would be tested, we immediately informed the league office. The health and safety of our players, our organization, those throughout our league, and all those potentially impacted by this situation are paramount in our discussions. "We are working closely with the CDC, Oklahoma and Utah state officials and the NBA to determine how to best move forward as we gather more information. The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City. In coordination with the NBA and state officials, we will provide updates at the appropriate time." Officials with the Oklahoma State Department of Health released a statement, saying the test was conducted in an Oklahoma public health lab, and they are testing other players and staff who have been in contact with the player:"The NBA has announced that a player on the Utah Jazz has been tested for COVID-19 and received a presumptive positive result. Public health officials were able to obtain the test result before the game’s tip off. This is still an ongoing investigation as public health officials are testing other players and staff who have been in contact with the player. "Those who were in attendance at the game are not at risk of catching COVID-19. As a reminder, COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets. Only individuals who are in close contact with a person with COVID-19 would be at risk of exposure. "As we are all aware, COVID-19 is present in Oklahoma. If you are planning to attend a large public event, please check with the event organizers for information in case the event is postponed or canceled. "We strongly recommend that people do not attend events if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, which include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. And if event attendees start to experience symptoms while at an event or conference, they should leave the event and seek medical advice promptly by calling ahead to a doctor’s office."