Confirmed coronavirus case was in attendance at MCG T20 World Cup Final

A record breaking crowd packed into the MCG for last Sunday’s T20 World Cup final, now a confirmed case was in attendance at the game.

The packed crowd at the MCG on Sunday.

The latest cases of the spread of coronavirus in Victoria have been revealed with one person listed as having attended Sunday’s T20 World Cup Final between Australia and India at the MCG.

A record-breaking crowd for a women’s sporting event in Australia of 86,174 packed into the MCG to watch on as Australia claimed a historic victory in euphoric circumstances.

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Six new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Thursday afternoon with one of those cases being listed as having attended the contest.

The state’s Chief Health Officer, Professor Brett Sutton said, said the new diagnoses related to men aged between 30 and 70.

Five had recently returned from international travel and the sixth had been in close contact with a confirmed case.

The man was in the MCC Members area on Level 2 of the stadium.

Six new Vic cases of COVID-19 confirmed, with lots of public exposure sites including the T20 cricket final, Rebels game, pubs, restraints and supermarkets.
Full list below: pic.twitter.com/gmHVnPYv5f

— Grant McArthur (@mcarthurg) March 12, 2020

AFL PREPARED FOR EMPTY STADIUMS

Serious questions have been raised about sporting events taking place in Australia since the pandemic began.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan addressed games potentially taking place in front of empty stadiums

“The safety of our players, staff at clubs, our venues, our supporters and even our own office is paramount, so it is important that we take the advice of those that know best,” McLachlan said.

“That advice to date – like for the rest of the country – is for people to take care of their personal hygiene and to get themselves checked if they feel like they have flu-like symptoms – but also to go about their usual routine whether work, personal lives or sport.

“The Victorian Government has signalled today that it is likely large public gatherings will be impacted at some stage in the future and it is prudent that we are prepared and planned.

“If mass gatherings are suspended then we will play games in stadiums with no crowds.”

Coronavirus measures at @WestCoastEagles season launch.

Approximate 4 metre safe zone for Adam Simpson presser, full ban on handshakes, body contact and players will sit on own tables, not mix with sponsors. @9NewsPerth pic.twitter.com/Jx7H36ONfT

— Paddy Sweeney (@SweeneyPaddy9) March 12, 2020

F1 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Formula 1 staff have been sent into isolation as fury rises over the event still planned to go ahead despite the increasing number of coronavirus cases.

Fans have taken aim at the government for allowing teams from across the globe to travel into Melbourne, with Ferrari’s team coming from Italy, the worst hit country outside of Asia.

A day out from the festivities around Albert Park officially getting underway, health authorities have announced they’re prepared to pull the pin if need be.

Five F1 staff personnel have been quarantined — four at Haas, one at McLaren — are they reported they were feeling unwell.

Should they return positive tests to coronavirus, Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton is prepared to stop the race.

“If (the tests) turn up positive, we need to consider what it means for their close contacts and if they have a number of close contacts across a number of crews, then those individuals need to be quarantined,” Sutton told Melbourne radio station 3AW.

“If that effectively shuts down the race, then so be it. We’ll make that call.”

NRL SEASON SET TO KICK OFF

The 2020 NRL season is set to get underway tonight with the Canberra Raiders and Canterbury Bulldogs locking horns.

Ahead of the game kicking off, the league issued guidelines to help stem the spread of the virus, but stopped short of blocking fans from packing out the stands.

Those include not taking selfies with fans after matches and avoiding taking pens from fans to sign autographs.

Clubs have been told to take reasonable steps to limit player contact with community organisations such as hospitals and schools.

Post-match access to dressing sheds will also be limited, as the league desperately tries to stay on top of the situation.

Meanwhile, 30,000 people are going to pile into a stadium in Sydney tonight to watch rugby league, another 35,000 in Canberra and Townsville tomorrow night, plus about 80,000 around Albert Park in Melbourne on Sunday. You want to see a virus spread? It'll be 10 x worse next week.

— Matt Nicholls (@mattnicholls29) March 12, 2020