An English Premier League game between Manchester City and Arsenal, has been postponed due to fears of coronavirus.
The postponement of the match which had been scheduled for Wednesday night, March 11, 2020, forms part of “precautionary” measures being put in place by the English FA to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
It follows news on Tuesday that owner of Greece side, Olympiacos, Evangelos Marinakis, has contracted COVID-19.
Arsenal recently played Olympiacos and since the news broke, players of the English team have since gone into self-quarantine at home.
In a statement issued by Arsenal, the team said “Following yesterday’s news that Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis has recently contracted Covid-19, we have been taking medical advice and tracing any individuals who had what the guidelines define as close contact with him at the game 13 days ago.”
According to the statement, “As a result of this exercise we identified that a number of players met the Olympiacos owner immediately following the game.”
“The medical advice we have received puts the risk of them developing Covid-19 at extremely low. However, we are strictly following the Government guidelines which recommend that anyone coming into close contact with someone with the virus should self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact,” it noted.
“The players will remain at their homes until the 14-day period expires. Four Arsenal staff – who were sitting close to Mr Marinakis during the match – will also remain at home until the 14 days are complete.”
BY Melvin Tarlue