Coronavirus: English Football League Suspended, Catholic Churches Shut Down Until Next Month

The Premier League chiefs have suspended all elite football fixtures until 4th April.

The suspended football competitions includes matches in the Premier League, FA Cup, Women Super League and the English Football League.

The decision was reached during a meeting on Friday discuss the English Football League’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, as Arsenal head coach, Mikel Arteta, and Chelsea player, Callum Hudson-Odoi, tested positive to COVID-19.

“Following a meeting of Shareholders today, it was unanimously decided to suspend the Premier League with the intention of returning on 4 April, subject to medical advice and conditions at the time,” Premier League said in a statement.

Three Leicester City players are also being tested for coronavirus, while Everton announced on Thursday that the squad was in self-isolation after a player reported symptoms consistent with the virus.

Meanwhile, Catholic churches in Rome has been closed until 3rd April due to the outbreak of Coronavirus in Italy.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis Pope Francis’ vicar for Rome archdiocese made the declaration on Thursday while describing the virus as unprecedented in modern times, Reuters report.

The declaration was made after the Italian government had on Wednesday night closed virtually every commercial activity across the country apart from pharmacies, food shops and other stores selling essential goods.

The decree dispenses Catholics in the archdiocese from their obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and on what are known as Holy Days of Obligation.

The decree also allows a relatively smaller number of oratories in convents and monasteries to remain open.

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