School, city disagree over virus infection involving football event
CGTN
Teenagers commit physical contact playing football. / VCG Photo

Teenagers commit physical contact playing football. / VCG Photo

Zhejiang Greentown Football School on Monday announced that only one player of its 57 team players and managers tested positive for the novel coronavirus, denying an official statement by Bengbu City earlier in the day.

The novel coronavirus prevention and control commanding office in Bengbu, a northern city of central China's Anhui Province, announced earlier on Monday that multiple members of Zhejiang Greentown Football School's team had been infected.

Bengbu hosted a teenage national football tournament between January 16 and 20. Thirty teams from Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces attended the competition. The commanding office said that a Wuhan-born relative of a member of the Greentown team also attended the tournament and had been confirmed infected with the virus. The office also revealed the locations where the tournament-related have visited, warning people to take necessary precautions.

In response, the Greentown Football School released a statement, claiming that only one of its players tested positive and the school admitted relatives for visits during the tournament. It also said that all players were dismissed after the competition.

Moreover, the school began to investigate the health conditions of all players and working staff when the country released the virus warning. On February 5, the school learnt that one family member of a player was confirmed to have the novel coronavirus. The school then focused its investigation on the players, managers and family members that visited Bengbu during the tournament. They were also warned to report to their community and place themselves under quarantine. The school also said that all information related to the investigation was sent to the football tournament organizing committee.