General spectators will not be allowed to attend the Tommie-Johnnie Men’s Basketball Sweet 16 matchup on Saturday. This follows an NCAA announcement on Wednesday that only essential staff and limited family can go to tournament games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 also forced a number of universities, including the University of Minnesota, to take steps to switch to online classes. The NBA suspended its season until further notice after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday evening for the virus.

In a speech to the nation Wednesday, President Donald Trump restricted passenger travel for a month between the United States and all European nations except the United Kingdom. The travel ban begins midnight Friday. He blamed Europe for not acting quickly enough to address the virus.

Stocks tumbled so sharply at the opening bell Thursday that a circuit breaker intended to slow panic trading kicked in, halting trading for 15 minutes. If the S&P 500 drops 13%, trading will be suspended again. If the drop eventually reaches 20%, trading will stop for the day.

Olivia Zipperer can be reached at olivia.zipperer@stthomas.edu.