Arsenal Coach Mikel Arteta has tested positive for Coronavirus.
According to the BBC, this has compelled the Gunners to close their training grounds while club staff who have had contact with Mikel Arteta have isolated themselves.
Mikel Arteta said: “This is really disappointing,”
“I took the test after feeling poorly. I will be at work as soon as I’m allowed.”
Some Arsenal players who also had self-contact with Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, reportedly have isolated themselves.
The Premier League will hold “an emergency club meeting” today, Friday, 13 March 2020, to discuss future fixtures.
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The club were due to face Brighton in the Premier League at Amex Stadium on Saturday (15:00 GMT) but Brighton released a statement, shortly after confirmation of Mikel Arteta’s positive test, announcing that the game had been called off.
Arsenal expects a “significant number of people” will self-isolate, including the “full first-team squad”.
BBC reports that all 20 Premier League clubs want to decide on a unified strategy, and one of the possible options that will be discussed at the meeting is postponing the rest of this weekend’s scheduled fixtures.
COVID-19 STATISTICS SO FAR
Nearly 4,614 people have died globally, with China the source of the virus, and Italy being the most affected. Over 100,000 cases have been recorded in over 120 countries.
In Africa, there have been very few cases, with Egypt leading with 67 cases, followed by Algeria with 24. South Africa has 13 cases, Morocco six, Tunisia 7, Senegal 4, Burkina Faso 2, Nigeria 2, Togo 1, DR Congo 1, Cameroon 2, and Cote D’Ivoire 1.
Ghana and Gabon are the latest in Africa to record a case. Meanwhile there have been only three deaths so far in Africa, with one each recorded in Egypt, Morocco and Algeria respectively.
