Gutfeld: We must think of coronavirus 'the same way we think about terrorism and 9/11'

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President Trump restricts travel from Europe to US as coronavirus begins to disrupt Americans' everyday lives

Schools close, sports leagues suspend or delay their seasons and large public gatherings are limited in response to the coronavirus pandemic; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'

Greg Gutfeld said Thursday that the coronavirus outbreak should be treated like terrorism rather than a simple health concern.

"The Greg Gutfeld Show" host recalled on "The Five" that after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the stock markets closed until the following Monday because the public was "shellshocked" and in the process of figuring out how to move forward with a response.

"I think we're making a mistake here by not doing that and we're making a mistake by foolishly comparing this virus to other viruses. It's like comparing last year's Super Bowl to the next," he said.

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"In that case, this virus is much like 9/11 in that the whole point of terror is that it gets through undetected, when your defenses are down, and that's constantly morphing and changing its shape or it mutates in order to survive. So, we have to think about this the same way we think about terrorism and 9/11," Gutfeld added.

He said that after the terror attacks, people felt uncertain day-to-day, which is similar to how the coronavirus outbreak is playing out.

Earlier Thursday, the NCAA canceled its winter and spring championships, including the men's and women's Division I basketball tournaments; Major League Baseball canceled the remainder of its spring training schedule; the National Hockey League suspended its season; and NASCAR announced that it would run its upcoming races in Hampton, Ga., and Homestead, Fla., without fans.

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"We're all getting freaked out about the NBA, baseball, hockey, [but] you've got to understand a lot of this stuff is legal advice so you don't get sued," Gutfeld continued. "It's because some lawyer is saying you don't want this player to sue you or a corporation, you don't want somebody working here to get the virus when you could have sent them home. All of these are just warnings," he said.