The NHL has sent a memo to teams advising them to tell players to currently limit close interaction with fans in response to concerns about the coronavirus.
Measures suggested to protect players and fans include avoiding handshakes with fans, close contact and accepting autographed items. The NBA earlier this week issued a similar memo to its teams and advised players to shun high-fiving fans and to instead offer a fist-bump.
The San Jose Sharks on Thursday played before a season-low crowd announced at 14,517 after the Santa Clara County Public Health Department recommended “postponing or canceling mass gatherings and large community events where large numbers of people are within arm’s length of one another.