BEIJING, China — China's government has ordered all major sports events to remain suspended because of the coronavirus outbreak, meaning the country's basketball league will have to push back its planned restart.
The Chinese Basketball Association had hoped to resume play in mid-April but was denied government approval to do so.
Instead, China’s General Administration of Sport issued a statement saying any large sporting events that draw crowds “are temporarily not being resumed.”
The agency did not give a timeline for when the suspensions may be lifted, but said it will “make timely adjustments according to the epidemic prevention and control situation."
The CBA has been suspended since Jan. 24 because of the spread of COVID-19.
The league is reportedly considering a proposal to bring all 20 teams to one or two cities and play the remainder of the regular season in empty arenas.
