It’s business as usual Thursday night in San Jose as the Sharks hosted the Minnesota Wild, despite the county’s public health officials’ recommendation to cancel the game due to concerns about the coronavirus.

“Similar to other parts of the world that have taken proactive steps to slow the spread of novel coronavirus, the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department is taking steps to protect our community,” a county official said in a statement provided to The Washington Post. “This includes recommendations to postpone or cancel mass gatherings and large community events where large numbers of people are within arm’s length of one another.

The Sharks in a statement said, “Sharks Sports & Entertainment is aware of the recommendations made today by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department and we continue to actively monitor the situation.

“SAP Center undergoes a rigorous cleaning procedure after each and every event, with particular attention paid to high-traffic, high public-contact areas. Many areas will receive additional, enhanced measures throughout the course of events for the foreseeable future.”

The county’s public health department is urging all employers to: Suspend nonessential employee travel, minimize the number of employees working within arm’s length of one another, including minimizing or cancelling large in-person meetings and conferences, urge employees to stay home when they are sick and maximize flexibility in sick leave benefits, and consider staggering start and end times to reduce large numbers of people coming together at the same time.

Currently, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Santa Clara County is 20.

“Our cases to date indicate to us that the risk of exposure to the virus in our community is increasing,” said county health officer Dr. Sara Cody, adding that the number of cases is expected to increase.

Thursday’s home game is the fourth game of six consecutive home starts for the Sharks, with games also scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.