ALL EYES ON WHICH ‘BIG NAME’ MALAYSIAN AFTER UDA DIRECTOR WILL COVID-19 HIT NEXT – EVEN AS PERLIS THE FIRST STATE TO CANCEL FRIDAY MASS PRAYERS AS PANDEMIC STARTS TO SPREAD LOCALLY – WHILE IN U.K., ARSENAL MANAGER ARTETA TESTS POSITIVE & CANADIAN PM JUSTIN TRUDEAU ‘SELF-ISOLATES’

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for the coronavirus, the club said on Thursday, prompting the Premier League to announce an emergency meeting on Friday.

Arsenal’s first-team squad are set to self-isolate as a result of Arteta’s status and the club’s Hale End training centre has been temporarily closed.

Brighton & Hove Albion, who were scheduled to play Arsenal on Saturday, announced that the match had been postponed.

The Premier League had issued a statement earlier on Thursday saying that “all Premier League matches will go ahead as scheduled this weekend” but they are facing pressure to suspend the season.

“Arsenal personnel who had recent close contact with Mikel will now self-isolate in line with government health guidelines. We expect this to be a significant number of people from Colney, including the full first-team squad and coaching staff,” Arsenal said in a statement.

The Arsenal announcement came after Spanish club Real Madrid said on Thursday that their team were in quarantine after one of the club’s basketball players tested positive.

Players and staff of Italian champions Juventus are also in quarantine after defender Daniele Rugani tested positive on Wednesday.

Arsenal said they expected those who did not have close contact with their Spanish manager to return to work in the coming days and that their training centres would undergo a deep clean.

“Mikel and the full first-team squad, players and staff, will be fully supported, and we look forward to getting back to training and playing as soon as medical advice allows. Obviously Mikel’s full recovery is the priority now for us all,” said the club’s head of football Raul Sanllehi.

“It is clear we will not be able to play some fixtures on their currently scheduled dates.”

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, who has three players in self-isolation after showing symptoms of the virus, said the season should be now stopped.

“There is absolutely no doubt, from a logical perspective. There’s the public health and ethical side as well,” he said.

“Players could be going into games and they could be unclear if opposition players are infected. You think of how it all connects with the throw-ins. Ultimately there should be no risks taken in the public’s health which is key,” Rodgers added.

Arteta, 37, who joined Arsenal in December after working as assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, said he had felt ill prior to taking the test.

“This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly. I will be at work as soon as I’m allowed,” he said.

Arsenal’s Premier League game at Manchester City scheduled for Wednesday was postponed after the owner of Greek club Olympiakos, who the Gunners played in the Europa League, had contracted the virus.

Arsenal said a number of their players had met Evangelos Marinakis after the game on Feb. 27. — Reuters

Perlis to replace Friday prayers today with Zohor at home

Perlis is the first state to replace the Friday prayers today with the Zohor prayers at home after Health Ministry advised against holding mass gatherings.

“In Perlis, the Friday prayer for this week will be replaced by Zohor prayer,” said state Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abudin.

Asri also uploaded a letter issued by Perlis State Islamic Affairs and Malay Customs Council (Maips) on his Facebook account today.

According to the letter, Maips made the decision after taking into consideration the Health Ministry’s view on the development of Covid-19. The decision was also guided by the state Fatwa Committee.

Maips said the matter was consented and was instructed by the Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail.

“The Health Ministry had asked to avoid holding any mass gatherings including religious activity,” it said.

“As such, the mosque management in Perlis must avoid from implementing any mass gathering activity for the time being.”

Muslims are told to perform their Zohor prayers at their own houses.

Yesterday, Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad (below) said the Friday prayers will continue as usual but the mosques have to take precautions.

This includes shortening the sermons and mosques are advised to provide hand sanitisers at the entrance.

It was reported that two participants who attended a religious gathering, which took place from Feb 28 to March 1, were tested positive for Covid-19.

Brunei’s Health Ministry had confirmed the country’s first Covid-19 patient, who tested positive on Monday, had attended the same gathering in Seri Petaling.

All State Health Departments are now tracking down over 5,000 Malaysians who participated in the gathering, which was also attended by 10,000 people from several countries.

As of yesterday, Malaysia recorded a total of 158 cases of Covid-19. – MKINI

Canada’s Trudeau self-isolates as wife is tested for coronavirus

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie are in self-isolation after she came down with flu-like symptoms and was tested for the new coronavirus, according to an official statement on Thursday.

The 48-year-old Liberal leader is exhibiting no symptoms and will continue to work from home until the results of his wife’s test comes in, the statement said. However, face-to-face meetings with provincial premiers scheduled for Thursday and Friday will instead be held by phone.

“Having recently returned from a speaking engagement in London, UK, the Prime Minister’s wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau began exhibiting mild flu-like symptoms including a low fever late last night,” the statement from the prime minister’s office read.

“She immediately sought medical advice, and is being tested for the COVID-19 virus. She is self-isolating at home awaiting test results, and her symptoms have since subsided.”

The statement does not mention whether their three children are staying home as well.

Trudeau’s announcement comes as the spread of the new coronavirus appears to be gathering steam and as authorities cancelled major events to try to limit contagion.

Canada had just over 100 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus as of Wednesday, more than double the number from a week ago. With Manitoba and New Brunswick reporting their first presumptive cases in the past 24 hours, six of Canada’s 10 provinces have recorded COVID-19 contagion.

Two other ministers with flu-like symptoms have gone into self-isolation in recent days as they awaited test results for the virus. Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said that the rest of the cabinet had not been instructed to self-isolate.

Trudeau’s move is “a precautionary measure, and should Canadians find themselves in a similar situation, that is the recommendation,” Miller said.

Ontario, the country’s most populous province, reported 17 new cases overnight, a 40%. In Alberta, Suncor Energy spokeswoman Erin Rees said a pre-school child in Calgary who attended a daycare in one of its buildings had tested positive for coronavirus.

The daycare was closed and children and their families were advised to self-quarantine, Rees said. Alberta health officials have not confirmed the case.

Also on Thursday, Canadian authorities cancelled the JUNO, an annual music award show similar to the Grammys in the United States, citing virus concerns, and Toronto’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade was suspended.

All 360 people working at the Ottawa office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions – Canada’s top financial services regulator – were asked to start working from home on Thursday after an employee was tested for the coronavirus, said spokesman Michael Toope.

Trudeau’s government committed C$1 billion ($723 million) on Wednesday towards bolstering the healthcare system and limiting the impact of the virus.[nL1N2B40PM]

The government of Ontario, the province that has reported the highest number of cases, has set aside C$100 million in “contingency funding”, Premier Doug Ford told reporters on Thursday. – REUTERS

REUTERS / MKINI