China team brings virus fear to SA

Local hockey body attempts to allay concerns over coronavirus as Chinese team ‘ticks all boxes’.

Though the nation has opened its doors to a sports team from China, local authorities insist every precaution has been taken to prevent the coronavirus from spreading within SA borders.

The Chinese men’s hockey team arrived in Cape Town on Monday for a training camp in preparation for the Tokyo Olympic Games in July, and the SA Hockey Association (Saha) confirmed yesterday the squad would be based in the Mother City until 8 April.

During their stay, Saha was also attempting to set up a series between China and the SA men’s team, who were focussed on their own preparations for the quadrennial Games.

Questions had been raised within the hockey community, with fears apparently emerging that the presence of the visiting squad could potentially place South Africans in danger of being infected with the respiratory virus which was first detected in Wuhan, China.

The national federation, however, attempted to allay fears, with the visiting team apparently having ticked all the boxes required by local health authorities.

“They’ve been quarantined by their own department of sport since 29 January and they have travelled to SA with all the medical clearances requested, which clears every person who is part of their delegation,” said Saha chief executive Marissa Langeni.

“They’ve also availed themselves for any testing that might be required while they’re here by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.”

Other national hockey teams were also preparing for the Tokyo Games in South Africa, including Ireland and Great Britain, who were training in Durban.

Japan had shown interest but had not yet confirmed their arrival, allegedly due to the Chinese team’s presence in the country.

Meanwhile, the SA table tennis team had opted to postpone a tour to South Korea for a few months due to coronavirus precautions – but the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) said it had not adjusted its preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games in July.

There had been international reports that London had been placed on standby to host the Games, should the virus not be sufficiently contained, but Sascoc said there had been no confirmation of an official decision to switch host cities.

“The message that has been conveyed is that the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are scheduled to continue as planned, at this stage, and athletes’ health and maintaining their wellbeing is top priority,” said Sascoc doctor Carolette Cloete.

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