Major sports events doubtful after Coronavirus outbreak
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has resulted in the cancellation of some major sporting events to take place in China, while placing a doubt on several other scheduled events, including the Asian Athletics Indoor Championship, where seven Sri Lankan Athletes were named to compete.
The Asian Indoor Athletics Championship 2020 is to be held in two weeks’ time (February 12 and 13) in Hangzhou, China which is 700 km away from Wuhan, ground zero for the Coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, the world governing body of Athletics, ‘World Athletics’, made a statement upon inquiry where they are yet to make a call regarding the World Indoor Athletics Championships to be held from March 13 to 15 in Nanjing China- 500km away from Wuhan.
“World Athletics is monitoring this situation carefully and is in close contact with the World Health Organisation. Should any of their advice affect plans for the World Indoor Championships Nanjing 2020, we will notify all our stakeholders promptly,” said World Athletics.
According to media reports from China, ‘The General Administration of Sport’, China’s government agency responsible for sports in mainland China had instructed the country’s sports associations to consider cancelling upcoming events until April 2020 in response to the ongoing outbreak.
So far, none of the Sri Lankan authorities responsible have issued any formal travel advisory, regarding travelling to China. However, the Sports Ministry and the Athletics Association said they are closely monitoring the situation. The Sports Ministry will be the sole authority responsible as the Minister of Sports has to approve teams before they compete in an international event or travel overseas.
“We have to wait and watch. There’s no official communiqué from any responsible organizations yet, but we will have to make a call soon. We can’t risk lives of athletes with these health concerns,” said President of the Athletics Association, Maj Gen Palitha Fernando.
Secretary of the Sports Ministry, K.D. Ruwanchandra said upto now, none of the organizations responsible have advised them regarding the situation. They will seek advice from relevant authorities before approval is given to any national team who wish to compete in an international event.
Dr. Dammika Senanayake from the Institute of Sports Medicine said they would have to issue a formal advice to the Sports ministry regarding Sri Lankan athletes who are travelling for international events due to the present health concerns. But, it should be the Asian Athletics Association or Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) who have to make the call regarding the Asian Indoor Championships soon, as World Medical Authorities have predicted that the spread of the virus will increase further, in the next two months.
So far, Olympic qualifying events of boxing and women’s football, which were due to be held in February in the quarantined city of Wuhan, were officially cancelled.
Other events such as the Chinese Super League Football Tournament, AFC Champions League qualifiers on 28 January, and a FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifier between China and the Maldives on 26 March could also be affected by the current situation. Nevertheless, organizers have announced that the Formula One Chinese Grandprix, which is scheduled for 19 April in Shanghai will go ahead as planned.
Chinese authorities have shut down 13 Cities so far, which has quarantined nearly 35 million people, to control the outbreak. Extreme health measures have been taken, especially, with increased travel time due to China’s Lunar New Year, which was on 25th. The death toll has risen to 41 and the number infected is at least 1,287 as of Saturday, as health authorities around the world took action to prevent a global pandemic.
The disease has now been detected in Australia, Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, France, United States, and Japan, where the 2020 Olympic Games will be held. Eleven people in four cities are now under observation in India though there’s no confirmed case affected by the virus yet.
“Countermeasures against infectious diseases constitute an important part of our plans to host a safe and secure Games,” Tokyo 2020 organizers said, in a statement after Japan detected the disease. Japan also issued a travel advisory asking their citizens not to make any trips to China deemed not urgent.
Sri Lanka athletes have already suffered from a dengue epidemic last December during the South Asian Games, where seven athletes were hospitalized in Nepal, with two being treated in the Intensive Care Unit. Several others suffered from fever before and after the competition.
