Warriors’ clash with Algeria in doubt as Algeria records more Coronavirus cases. Zimbabwe is scheduled to travel to Blida for a date against the Desert Foxes on March 23.
The two teams will then meet in the reverse fixture six days later but a venue for that encounter is yet be confirmed since all stadia in the country were deemed unfit to host international matches due to poor infrastructure.
THE 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier between Algeria and Zimbabwe is in danger of being called after the north African country reported more cases of the deadly coronavirus (Covid-19) yesterday.
However, the probability of the first match going ahead is diminishing after the Algeria Health ministry yesterday reported two more cases of the coronavirus, taking the total infections in the North African country to three.
Although the epidemic originated in the Wuhan province in China, it has so far claimed the lives of more than 2 900 with more than 88 000 infections in more than 60 countries globally.
The first coronavirus case in Algeria was reported on February 25, and it was an Italian national, who has since been sent back home.
Yesterday, Algeria health officials announced that a mother and her daughter are now under quarantine in Blida, where the game is supposed to be staged, after they were infected by an 83-year-old relative, who they hosted in their home following a recent visit from France.
The airborne epidemic is highly-contagious and there is a huge chance the Algerian authorities are likely to record more cases in the coming days since these latest patients would have come into contact with more people before the disease was detected.
Although the epidemic has not widely-spread in Africa, there is likelihood the forthcoming Afcon qualifiers including the Desert Foxes and Warriors’ clash in Blida will be affected.
In Italy, the coronavirus has virtually put everyday life and football included on a standstill after the government issued a decree extending the suspension of all sporting events in regions affected by the virus outbreak until March 8.
At the weekend, the top of the table Serie A clash between Juventus and Inter was cancelled while this coming weekend at least six matches will not take place.
On Sunday, Serie A announced that it will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to “examine the consequences the governmental measures related to coronavirus have had on the fixture list”.
This comes after Inter Milan chief executive Giuseppe Marotta said the season even ran the risk of being unable to finish. “If more matches are called off then, yes, we run that risk,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport when asked if the championship might not finish.
Marotta said that, because some matches had been postponed and others had not, the “balance of the championship has been altered”, adding: “It’s a distorted tournament. You just need to think of injuries and suspensions. And there is the psychological aspect when you look at the standings.”
The total number of people infected with the new coronavirus in Italy has risen to 1 694, 50 percent between Sunday and yesterday. Five more people infected with the virus have died, bringing the deaths in Italy to 34. The Euro 2020 football tournament is in danger because of the coronavirus outbreak as well.
Although Uefa had insisted the tournament which will start in Rome on June 12, will go ahead, the continental football leaders are expected to make a decision at their annual general assembly which commenced yesterday.
The 2020 Olympics Games which are scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan from July 24 are also in danger of being cancelled. Although they have reported six deaths and a total of 210 infections, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took the drastic step last week of closing all the country’s schools for at least a month.