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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for coronavirus less than an hour after the Premier League announced that this weekend’s fixtures will go ahead. Arsenal were due to play Brighton on Saturday, but the South Coast club announced this evening that the match is postponed.
Arteta has become the first confirmed member of staff of a Premier League team to contract the disease, which was officially labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on Wednesday, reports the MailOnline.
He, and the entire first-team squad and coaching staff, will now be self-isolating in accordance with the most recent government guidelines.
The news came less than an hour after the Premier League announced that this weekend’s fixtures would still be played as planned.
Earlier Thursday Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a meeting of Cobra emergency committee in which he refused to ban mass gatherings or shut schools despite saying ‘many loved ones’ will die during the escalating crisis.
It is understood Arteta did not come into contact with Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also tested positive, during their Europa League game on February 27.
There are over 590 confirmed cases of the virus in the UK, and 10 people have died from it so far. Nearly 5,000 people have died worldwide, and the number of cases has shot up to over 130,000.
The prime minister today branded the virus the ‘worst public health crisis in a generation’ and warned that ‘many more’ people are going to die, but still held off drastic measures.
At a press conference in Westminster, Mr Johnson formally declared that the UK’s tactics have shifted from ‘containing’ the killer disease to merely ‘delaying’ its inevitable spread, after he chaired a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee.
Mr Johnson said it was clear the disease will continue to spread around the world and people should brace for the ‘reality’ of ‘severe disruption’ for many months.
The Government’s new plan urges anyone with even mild coronavirus-like symptoms – a persistent cough or a fever – to quarantine themselves at home and to sleep alone if possible and stay at least two metres from relatives.
The PM has also recommended all overseas school trips be cancelled while people over the age of 70 or those with pre-existing serious medical conditions have been told not to go on cruises.
But he stopped short of more extreme measures such as closing schools and banning mass gatherings which have been adopted in Ireland, Norway, France and Italy in an effort to stem the spread of the virus.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said this evening that Scotland was shutting down public events ‘that have the potential to have an impact on our frontline emergency services’.
Mr Johnson said the UK would not close schools yet even though government advisers admitted the move would help stem the outbreak.
Advisers said the length of closure necessary to make the measure work could be more than 16 weeks and would at this stage therefore not be feasible.
