NFL draft to go ahead as planned sans players, fans and media

The 2020 American football NFL draft will go ahead as planned next month but players, fans and media will not be part of it due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The draft will be held from April 23-25 in a television studio, with players interviewed via video conference, a BBC Sport report said.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said it "can serve a very positive purpose for our clubs, our fans and the country".

He added: "There is no assurance that we can select a different date and be confident that conditions will be significantly more favourable than they are today."

The NFL draft is one of the most sought after events in the US' sporting calendar. A total of 32 teams recruit talent from the American collegiate system in front of packed media.

The US now has more coronavirus cases than any other country after more than 16,000 COVID-19 infections were reported in a single day. The number of patient count in America is now over 85,600, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

America leads with 85,653 COVID-19 cases, followed by China with 81,782 and Italy with 80,589 infections, the data showed.

Some young and fit people were also becoming seriously ill due to novel coronavirus, Anthony Fauci, the top infectious diseases scientist on the White House COVID-19 task force, told NBA star Stephen Curry on Instagram Live.

The question-and-answer session on Thursday lasted almost 30 minutes and was watched by around 50,000 viewers, including former US President Barack Obama and pop star Justin Bieber.

The overall death toll in the US currently stands at 1,290.