Algeria: Fans banned from attending League 1 matches for fear of Coronavirus spread

The Algerian Ministry of Health announced that it is prohibited for fans to attend football league matches to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.

This came during a press conference held by the Minister of Health, Abdel-Rahman Bin Bouzid, in Algiers, on Tuesday, which the Anadolu Agency’s correspondent has covered.

The minister explained that the last cabinet meeting (Sunday) included recommendations from the President of the Republic to prevent rallies and also to hold the League 1 matches without the presence of fans.

“The President of the Republic gave us instructions to ban rallies (in streets) and stadiums. The League 1 matches will take place without the presence of fans … Yes, this is official,” Bin Bouzid added.

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The Minister of Youth and Sports will also officially announce later that the League1 matches will be held without the presence of fans, and will also provide additional clarifications.

The minister did not say whether the Algerian Cup and the national football team were concerned with the aforementioned precautionary measures or not.

A few days ago, the Algerian authorities announced the allocation of $ 31 million to contain the spread of the virus, after 20 confirmed cases of Coronavirus were recorded to date.

The most significant proportion of this amount will be directed to providing medicines and pharmaceutical materials, and the rest will be used to buy thermal imaging cameras and virus detectors.

In the same context, the Algerian Ministry of Water Resources and Environment announced on Sunday evening the cancellation of the International Exhibition of the Environment and Renewable Energies, which was scheduled to start in the capital on Monday.

The ministry also announced a few days ago, the postponement of the largest exhibition in North Africa for oil and gas, which was scheduled to be held March in Oran Governorate, west of the country, until next September.

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As of Tuesday morning, the virus had infected more than 116,000 worldwide in 115 countries and territories, more than 4089 of whom had died. The highest death tolls were recorded in China, South Korea, Iran, and Italy.

The Coronavirus, which first appeared in China at the end of last December, led to the suspension of Umrah, flights, and the postponement or cancellation of sports, political and economic events around the world, amid accelerated efforts to contain the disease, which sparked a state of panic worldwide.