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The ongoing coronavirus concerns are now impacting Italy in a big way. On Wednesday, March 4, it was announced that all Italian sporting events will prohibit fans from attending for at least the next month.
ESPN’s SportsCenter was first to share the news.
The announcement comes just shortly after the top Italian soccer league, Serie A, announced that multiple games this weekend would be postponed. A majority of the coronavirus cases in Italy are in the northern part of the country where the games were set to be held.
“The decision was down to me, but the clubs involved were contacted by telephone, so we know everyone’s positions, which were difficult to reconcile,” Paolo Dal Pino, president of Lega Serie A, told the New York Times. “I invite everyone to think as Serie A, not as individual clubs.”
Currently, there are more than 3,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the world with 107 of which were fatal.
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in China, it has now reached many countries around the world including the United States. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
