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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — As Kansas recorded its first death from the coronavirus, athletic officials canceled the state's high school basketball tournaments and hospitals and nursing homes restricted access.

Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday the death of a non-mobile man in his 70s who was infected in a Wyandotte County nursing home by community spread in the state's fifth case. State officials did not know whether other residents are ill or being tested yet.

Hours earlier, state and local health officials announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in the state had grown from one to four, with all of them in neighboring Johnson County, also in the Kansas City metropolitan area. All four of those cases involved people who had become infected traveling out of state.

Kelly declared a state of emergency to make it easier for the state to mobilize its resources and said that the state will ban large gatherings at the Statehouse. Visitors will be limited to only people who have business before the Legislature, which is in session.

"Every effort is being made to mitigate the spread of the virus, including quarantining all who are known to have been contact with this individual," Kelly said.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

News of the man's death came after a flurry of announcements from universities and colleges, including the University of Kansas and Kansas State, that they were moving their classes online to help prevent any spread of the coronavirus. Also, public school officials began contemplating the possibility that that they eventually might have to close schools.

In the Kansas City area, the Olathe district started spring break one day early, The Kansas City Star reported. Meanwhile, the nearby Shawnee Mission school district is requiring students and teachers to take home devices and materials before spring break begins next week, in preparation for a potential school closure. Extensive cleaning is planned in both districts.

Following Kelly's announcement, the Kansas State High School Activities Association announced that the 2020 state basketball tournaments have been canceled without make-up, marking the first time since 1907 that there won't be a state champion.

KSHSAA assistant executive director Mark Lentz said the vote was "unanimous," The Wichita Eagle reports.

Other events around the state have been canceled or suspended, including a Harlem Globetrotters game at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita. The St. Patrick's Day parade in Topeka also was canceled.

The Kansas Supreme Court also ordered the state's courts to make a plan to keep critical functions running amid the outbreak. Meanwhile, several hospitals announced that they were restricting access to visitors, including those in Wichita and Lawrence. Nursing homes, several of them in the Wichita area, also rolled out restrictions.

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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.