U.A.E. Cancels Rest of Cycling Tour on 2 Coronavirus Cases
U.A.E. Cancels Cycling Tour After Riders Test Positive for Virus
(Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates has decided to scrap the remaining rounds of the 2020 U.A.E. Tour after two Italian team members tested positive for the coronavirus.
All remaining participants, organizers and administrative staff will be screened and some quarantined, according to the state-run Emirates News Agency. Other people who were in contact with the two Italians will also be placed under observation. The tour’s website lists around 140 cyclists as part of the race. The event was supposed to end Feb. 29.
Christopher Froome, a four-time Tour de France winner, said in tweet that all cyclists were waiting to be tested and will remain in their accommodation. He was competing for the British team in the U.A.E. Tour.
Italy has reported the third-highest number of virus cases behind China and South Korea, excluding a tally of those on a cruise ship quarantined for weeks in Yokohama harbor, Japan. Meanwhile, the U.A.E. announced a total of 19 patients on Thursday in its first update since Feb. 22. The Gulf nation is also setting up a medical facility to quarantine patients.
To contact the reporter on this story: Farah Elbahrawy in Dubai at felbahrawy@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net, Chua Baizhen, Niluksi Koswanage
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