China indefinitely shuts down plan to resume CBA season

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The Chinese government has pushed back the resumption of the Chinese Basketball Association season indefinitely through an order from the country's General Administration of Sport, according to documents that ESPN's Jonathan Givony obtained.

Sports officials are hesitant to restart the season due to the threat of asymptomatic coronavirus carriers, sources told Givony. The season was suspended on Feb. 1 in response to China's outbreak, but the number of new confirmed cases in the nation has tailed off significantly since a mid-February spike, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Plans to recommence the CBA season reportedly included selecting two cities to host games involving the league's 20 teams in empty arenas within a month.

Many in the NBA are believed to be observing the Chinese league as a potential example of how to safely resume the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. CBA teams reportedly still want to restart the campaign and hope to provide players with more clarity regarding the hiatus in a few weeks.