The National Hockey League has made the decision to suspend all regular season games as fears over COVID-19 continue to sweep North America. 

The decision comes one day after the National Basketball Association pulled the plug on its season. 

In making the decision, the NHL issued the following statement, which including citing concerns about basketball and hockey players sharing the same locker rooms in many arenas throughout the States: 

 https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1238156904473530368 

The decision comes just hours after the league told all teams to cancel practices and game-day skates for March 12.

Early Wednesday, it was announced that the Columbus Blue Jackets would host Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday with no fans being allowed in the stands, which would have been the first time that a game was played with no spectators. The San Jose Sharks announced that they would also play their next three home games without fans. 

The Vancouver Canucks, who are in a fight for a wildcard playoff spot, are currently in Arizona, where they were scheduled to play the Coyotes tonight. 

Twitter was flooded earlier this morning with hockey insiders tweeting that all referees and linesman had been instructed by the league to book flights home. 

Hoping to salvage the season if North America gets COVID-19 under control in the coming months, the NHL has asked all teams to provide details about the availability of their home rinks in late June and through to the end of the July. Normally the Stanley Cup playoffs tend to wrap up by mid-June. 

If the season ends up shut down for good with no playoffs, it will be the second time there has been no Stanley Cup winner. The NHL lost its entire 2004/05 season when owners locked out players in a dispute over revenue sharing and salaries. 

With eerie similarities to what's happening today, the Stanley Cup playoffs were cancelled in 1919 when a case of Spanish influenza ripped through North America. 

Five games had been played in the finals that year, with the Seattle Metropolitans and the Montreal Canadiens taking two games a piece, and one ending in a tie. After the league cancelled the final game which would have decided a winner, all but three Canadiens ended up hospitalized by the flu, with defenseman Joe Hall dying.