Portugal finds 13 cases of Omicron variant at Lisbon soccer club (updated)

Aris Mining

29/11/2021 09:29

* Variant diagnosed after Belenenses SAD match vs Benfica
    * Belenenses player had recently returned from S. Africa
    * League investigating circumstances of match

 (Adds request for rematch, para 9)
    By Catarina Demony and Andrei Khalip
    LISBON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Portugal detected 13 cases of the
Omicron coronavirus variant on Monday, all involving players and
staff of top division soccer club Belenenses SAD, one of whose
players recently returned from South Africa, health authority
DGS said. 
    The diagnoses were made after the Lisbon club played a
Primeira Liga match against Benfica on Saturday that started
with only nine Belenenses players on the pitch because of a
COVID-19 outbreak.
    Only seven players returned to the field after halftime, and
the match was abandoned two minutes into the second half with
Benfica leading 7-0.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SI0G3
    Belenenses defender Cafu Phete tested positive for COVID-19
after returning from international duty in South Africa on Nov.
17, and he and 12 others at the club were confirmed on Monday to
be infected with the Omicron variant, which was first detected
last week in southern Africa.
    By Monday, more than a dozen countries had reported cases of
the variant, which the World Health Organization said carried a
very high global risk of surges.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SK05V
    DGS chief Graça Freitas told broadcaster SIC that nearly all
Belenenses players had been vaccinated against COVID-19, adding
that all their high- and low-risk contacts would get tested. 
    A club spokesman said most of those infected were
asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, and that 44 players and staff
were self-isolating and waiting to repeat tests. 
    The Benfica and Belenenses presidents said that, had they
not played the match, they risked being penalised for an
"unjustified absence". They blamed the league and DGS for not
postponing the game.
    Belenenses on Monday asked the league to annul Saturday's
game and arrange a rematch.
    The league, which earlier said it did not receive a formal
request to postpone the match, was on Monday investigating if
the match had complied with health rules.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2SJ0LE DGS said
it was not up to the health authority to postpone the game.
    Portugal, which has one of the world's highest COVID-19
vaccination rates, last week announced the return of curbs to
slow the epidemic's spread.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SG1CM
    Belenenses played against third-division club Caldas on Nov.
21. A Caldas spokesman said they would test their players.
    A Benfica spokesman said none of their players were in
isolation as the Belenenses players they faced on Saturday were
not considered high-risk contacts. Benfica's next match is
scheduled for Friday.

 (Reporting by Catarina Demony and Andrei Khalip in Lisbon and
Fernando Kallas in Madrid; Editing by Ed Osmond and John
Stonestreet)
 ((catarina.demony@thomsonreuters.com; +351 915 616 444
(Twitter: @CatarinaDemony);))