Last consequences of the virus

The suspension of the Tour of the United Arab Emirates, after two positive cases among participants, is the latest consequence in the sports calendar due to the virus spread. Participants and members of the cycling caravan remain locked in a couple of hotels in Abu Dhabi, awaiting the results of medical tests and health authorities' decisions.

Competitions jump from country to country and from month to month in the calendar, looking for 'safe' destinations that allow athletes to participate in qualifying and preparatory tournaments for the Games as planned.

Behind closed doors matches, spectators wearing masks, flight cancellations, border closures... "An added complexity to the federations' life," summarized the first vice-president of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch, referring to an sports calendar turned upside down.

All of this while the million-dollar question (or the billion-dollar question) hangs over the sports universe: will the Olympic Games take place?

The organizers and the IOC maintain that they continue working on the preparation of the Games without considering a cancellation or a date change, but they remain "extremely attentive" to what happens, "with obvious concern," said Samaranch.

Any decision regarding the Games will always be "dictated by what health authorities determine".

The Games are expected to be attended by more than 10,000 athletes, with their corresponding teams, federations, assistants, and referees, in addition to hundreds of thousands of fans and tourists arriving in Japan for the Olympic event.

The suspension of the matches in the Japanese football league until March 15, the postponement of the training of the Games' volunteers, and the temporary closure of all schools on Friday to contain the outbreak do not invite tranquility about what is to come in the country hosting the Games in less than five months.

In the last hours, in addition to the cancellation of the Tour of the United Arab Emirates with two stages left, the last pre-Olympic mixed triathlon relay that was to take place in Chengdu (China) has been moved to Valencia (Spain) for May; the rowing pre-Olympic event for Asia and Oceania in April has been canceled in Chungju (Korea) and will be included in the global event of the following month in Lucerne (Switzerland); and the Ireland-Italy Six Nations Rugby match will not be played on March 7 and is pending a new date.

Before all this, all sports activities in the 'risk areas' of Italy, the Chinese F1 Grand Prix, skiing, golf, tennis, table tennis, and badminton tournaments in Asia, the women's basketball pre-Olympics in China, and the indoor athletics World Championships to be held in Nanjing (China) in March - the most important event that has been canceled.

Valencia, from the Spanish football league, has today suspended all its non-sports activities, including the tribute to David Villa, the highest scorer in the history of the Spanish national team, scheduled for this Saturday.

In China, the focus of the disease, there are 78,630 of the 82,294 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 2,747 deaths within its territory and 57 outside that country, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Another consequence of the fear of the spread of the disease are the limitations on the movement of athletes and fans between countries and continents. This Friday's Tel Aviv Marathon or Sunday's Tokyo Marathon is a good example: the former has not allowed foreigners to run, the latter has canceled the popular race, in which 38,000 people were registered.

Meanwhile, Chinese athletes continue to train under strict security measures, in closed camps to protect them from infection.

Similar uncertainty weighs on the Olympics as it looms over the two major football events of the year, the Copa America and the Euro, which coincide in dates, from June 12 to July 12, and in multiple venues: the Copa America in Argentina and Colombia, the Euro in twelve countries.

The start of the Formula One World Championship on March 15 in Melbourne (Australia) and the springtime cycling classics are the next challenges for sports and health authorities in relation to the coronavirus.

Most international federations have provided their athletes with guidelines for basic recommendations to avoid contagion - hand washing, using disposable tissues... - and, in case of infection, to seek medical attention and avoid contact with teammates and training partners.

Amidst the confusion, tennis player Rafael Nadal summarized the feelings of athletes regarding the coronavirus from Mexico, where he is participating in the Acapulco tournament: "Hopefully, a remedy is found and this fear subsides. Not only for the Olympic Games, but for humanity".