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HEALTH

Spain imposes ban on fans at sports fixture over coronavirus fears

The Champions League match between Valencia and Atalanta will be played behind closed doors next week to try and contain the rapid spread of the deadly coronavirus, Spain's health minister said Tuesday.

Spain imposes ban on fans at sports fixture over coronavirus fears
Fans in mask during El Clasico on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Salvador Illa also said that the second leg of Getafe's Europa League last 32 tie with Inter Milan on March 19 would also be played without fans in the stands.   

“The decision of the authorities is that these matches are to be played behind closed doors,” Illa told reporters.

Illa said “a large gathering of fans” needed to be avoided for both matches as Valencia look to overturn a 4-1 first-leg deficit at the Mestalla stadium on March 10.   

A Spanish sports journalist who covered the first match at the San Siro on February 19th was diagnosed with coronavirus on his return home to Valencia.

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The Spanish government has made the decision to close the match to supporters due to the “large presence of fans” from area of northern Italy most affected by the coronavirus outbreak, said Illa.

Atalanta are based in Bergamo in Lombardy, the region that has so far been worst hit in Italy by an epidemic that has killed 79 people and infected more than 2,500.

Up to now 150 cases of coronavirus have been detected in Spain according to the latest official figures.

Basketball matches between Spanish teams and clubs in northern Italy have also been affected, with Valencia v Olimpia Milan on March 5 in the men's EuroLeague and Girona v Venezia in the Women's Eurocoupe on March 19th closed off to supporters.

READ MORE:  Coronavirus: The everyday precautions to take if you're in Spain

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HEALTH

Are Danes cutting back on cigarettes and alcohol?

Danish stores sold a significantly lower quantity of alcohol and cigarettes over the counter last year, new data from Statistics Denmark show.

Are Danes cutting back on cigarettes and alcohol?

Some 3,852 cigarettes were sold year, which amounts to 804 per person over the age of 18. But that compares to a figures of 854 per person on 2022.

Cigarette sales in Denmark have been declining since 2018.

Sales of sprits, beer and wine fell by 7.8 percent, 5.3 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

Danish business sold the equivalent of 44.4 million litres of pure alcohol, which works out at 11.9 units per week on average for each person over the age of 18.

Although that is a lower value than in 2022, it still exceeds the amount recommended by the Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen).

The Health Authority recommends that adults over 18 drink no more than 10 units per week and no more than four in a single day.

READ ALSO: Should Denmark raise the minimum age for buying alcohol?

“The numbers are still too high and it’s an average that could have a skewed distribution,” University of Southern Denmark professor, Janne Tholstrup, said in relation to the alcohol sales figures. Tholstrup has published research on Denmark’s alcohol culture.

That is in spite of a 30-year-trend of falling alcohol consumption, according to the professor.

“The majority of Danes stay under the recommended 10 unite per week. That means there is a large group with a persistently excessive consumption of alcohol,” she said.

The Statistics Denmark figures also show that sales of loose tobacco – such as the type used in roll-up cigarettes and pipes – also fell last year. Some 58 tonnes less were sold compared to 2022.

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