Austin hit by virus

WEST BRoM striker Charlie Austin has urged people to take the coronavirus outbreak more seriously after revealing he has been struck down by it. With the death toll in Britain rising and pubs, restaurants and clubs closing from last night, the pandemic continues to affect everyday life. Sport has been hit, with some players and staff testing positive for the virus. And Austin, who has been struggling with coronavirus this week, stressed the importance of following Government guidelines. ‘Before I started feeling the symptoms on Saturday I was on the phone to my wife Bianca’s mother and I said to her that I hoped if anyone in our family got it that it would be me,’ he told the Daily Telegraph. ‘I felt like I was fit and healthy and I could handle it. A week later and I would say to anyone, even those in their twenties and thirties, “Don’t take it lightly, it’s serious”. ‘I get that people who haven’t got it are going about their lives. Last week, I was living my life. Not that I didn’t take coronavirus seriously. But this is extremely serious and we should take it that way.’ Austin felt that football needed a high-profile name to become ill before it was taken seriously, adding: ‘It almost took someone high up to get it for the game to think, “oh actually, we need to stop”. If (Arsenal manager) Mikel Arteta hadn’t tested positive, we would have played those fixtures last weekend. ‘I would rather we looked back in three or four months’ time and thought we were over-cautious than look back thinking we could have done more.’