Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Virus victim says he was in the clear
A footballer who was told he had coronavirus insists he put nobody at risk when eating at a Gillingham pub, writes Luke Cawdell.
Sean Raggett, who was born and raised in the town, received a call while dining out at The Star and was told a test for Covid-19 had come back positive.
A national newspaper story suggested he had put others at risk but he insists that wasn’t the case, as he would have caught the virus 18 days previously, when his team played Arsenal in the FA Cup. His club Portsmouth carried out tests once the news came out that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had the virus. Those were conducted on Tuesday but Raggett had already shut himself away just in case. It was only once he had been given the all-clear by the club doctor, following advice from Public Health England, that he could no longer be a carrier, that he paid a visit to Gillingham and went out with friends.
His test finally came back while out eating. He is one of four players from Portsmouth to have tested positive and the League 1 club are awaiting news of another 10 possible cases. Raggett, who played for the Gills as a junior and starred for non-league Dover Athletic, said: “I was in the pub when I found out but I had already been told that because I had self isolated for the previous seven days that I would no longer be carrying the virus, that I was well and anyone in there was fine. “The Portsmouth doctor spoke to Public Health England and they said I no longer required to self isolate. “Anyone there (in the pub) was completely fine. I wouldn’t have passed anything on. “By the time I got the results I had been clear of it.”
The 26-year-old said he didn’t feel any symptoms and returned to Portsmouth, where he plays on loan from Premier League side Norwich City.
▪ Gillingham chairman Paul Scally has urged Premier League clubs to help finance the survival of those below.
In an interview with the Guardian he suggested each club should put £2.5m into a fund for those in the English Football League (EFL). That £50m could be used to help out those struggling to cope with the current football shutdown, which has deprived teams of much-needed matchday income.
The plight of the lower leagues was brought up in Parliament last week by Gillingham & Rainham MP Rehman Chishti, in an address to the Chancellor, who said there were a range of measures which have been implemented by Westminster in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The EFL have introduced a £ 50million short- term relief package to assist clubs struggling with the lack of income during the halt in proceedings.
Last week Mr Scally said the club could last two or three months, commenting that “after that, the cash we do have will run out and I don’t have a solution past two or three months.”
The EFL’S relief package involved sending out Basic Award payments to clubs early, a figure of around £250,000, and offering them interest free loans of £183,000.
Mr Scally said: “I’m not begging, I’m just looking for those within our industry that could support us and could generally support clubs that are run properly and not just siphoning cash on stupid stuff, to make that gesture.”