A total of 53 people have tested positive for coronavirus among all delegations participating in the Copa America, the Ministry of Health of Brazil, host country of the competition, informed on Tuesday.
Since Sunday, the date of the inaugural match in Brasilia, “53 cases of Covid-19 have been reported, including 27 among players and members of delegations and 26 among service providers hired for the event,” said in a statement the ministry, without detailing the number of cases in each team.
The day before the starting whistle, the Conmebol, South American football confederation, had detected the appearance of outbreaks of the virus, which had struck 13 members of the Venezuelan team, and four of that of Bolivia. Then, two cases had been confirmed within the Colombian team.
The Peruvian team’s physical trainer tested positive on Tuesday, the delegation from that country said.
To date, 3,045 PCR tests have been carried out among delegations and groups taking part in the tournament, the Brazilian government said.
Despite the absence of the public, the trip of the Copa America to Brazil after the withdrawals of Colombia and then Argentina aroused strong criticism, given the health situation of the country: the South American giant has accumulated nearly half a million deaths from the coronavirus.
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