Cycling teams in Abu Dhabi hotel to remain in quarantine

dubai — Cycling teams confined to a luxury Abu Dhabi hotel have been instructed by the state’s health authorities to remain in quarantine until March 14 due to coronavirus concerns, several team members said on Wednesday.

The UAE authorities ordered the lockdown of the Crown Plaza in Yas Island and the nearby W hotel after two Italian participants involved in last week’s UAE Tour were suspected of contracting coronavirus.

Members of the French teams Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ as well as Russian outfit Gazprom — including 18 riders — have been confined to the fourth floor of the Crowne Plaza since Thursday.

The health ministry said on Tuesday that six new cases relating to the cycling event had been discovered. They were identified as Russian, Italian, German and Colombian nationals but it was not clear if they had been confined to either of the hotels.

The W hotel was housing media and other guests attending last week’s tour.

Meanwhile, the National Olympic Committee has received an official letter from the General Secretariat of GCC regarding the postponement of the 3rd GCC Games in Kuwait which were scheduled to be held on 4-14 April, 2020.

The Games will be held in December in a date to be decided later on.

The NOC has backed the decisions aimed to safeguard the health of athletes and the community at large through rescheduling local sports events in collaboration with the hosting countries. This stands stems from the NOC’s keenness to promote health education and curb the spread of illnesses amongst participants.

“The NOC supports the efforts of all sports and public entities to halt the spread of the current Corona Virus. We proirotise the health of athletes and sports personnel. It is also in line with the vision of our leadership that cares for humans and healthy communities,” said Mohammed bin Sulayem, Secretary-General, UAE NOC.

“The NOC is always keen on taking preventive and cautionary measures at all levels. It has been decided upfront to postpone the 5th National Sports Day. It was decided to postpone that sports event; which brings together various nationalities to practice a variety of events at different locations for 24 hours to raise the public awareness and stress the importance of taking preventive measures and handling various issues.