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Serie A Games Postponed After Coronavirus Outbreak
Four Serie A matches due to be played on Sunday have been postponed in the wake of an outbreak of coronavirus in northern Italy.
Inter Milan’s home game against Sampdoria is the highest profile fixture to be called off, with the Torino v Parma, Verona v Cagliari and Atalanta v Sassuolo clashes also postponed.
“Minister of Sport [Vincenzo] Spadafora intends to suspend all sporting events planned for Sunday in the Veneto and Lombardy regions,” said Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at a news conference on Saturday.
The action was taken after a woman in Lombardy became the second person to die from the virus in 24 hours.
Several towns in Lombardy have been placed on lockdown, with schools and offices closed and residents urged to stay away from accident and emergency departments.
A number of Serie B, C and D matches have also been postponed along with AC Milan Women’s Serie A home game against Fiorentina.
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Italy has now reached 115.
The governor of the Lombardy Region Attilio Fontana said that there were 89 cases in his region, most of which had popped up in small towns in the countryside.
The next hardest hit region after Lombardy is Veneto, in the northeast, with at least 17 cases.
/Stewart Sports news editor
