The spread of COVID-19, a coronavirus, has reached pandemic levels and suspended most professional sports leagues around the world.
One of those leagues is La Liga, Spain’s top flight of professional soccer, which has suspended the league until April 4. With the disease spreading quickly across Spain, however, the president of La Liga Javier Tebas hinted this week that it is looking likely that the league will cancel the entire rest of the season.
The disease is hitting teams hard, as well. Valencia defender Eliaquim Mangala, who previously played for Manchester City and has featured for the French national team, announced on Sunday that he had tested positive for the disease, despite not showing any symptoms.
Mangala noted that he had not displayed any symptoms. His teammate, Ezequiel Garay, has also tested positive, which likely led to a team-wide testing. According to the BBC, five people with the club have tested positive for the disease.
In his note, Mangala noted that he has learned that you can test positive without having symptoms, and because of that, he encourages everyone to “follow the confinement measures and avoid contact with other people, as much as possible, even if you feel well.”
It’s an important reminder for us all. We wish Mangala a speedy recovery.
