AFL and NRL matches could be cancelled to stop the spread of coronavirus, officials said today.
Chief Medical Officer of Australia Brendan Murphy was asked at a press conference this afternoon if cancelling events that have large crowds is being considered.
He replied: ‘The possibility is always there, but that is a last resort.’
Workers disinfect subway trains against coronavirus in Tehran, Iran, in the early morning of Wednesday
The NRL season starts on 12 March when the Eels take on the Bulldogs at the Bankwest Stadium.
The AFL season starts on 19 March with up to 100,000 piling into the MCG for Richmond’s clash with Carlton.
Professor Murphy also revealed that coronavirus may last ‘several months’ and could return every year like flu.
‘The models can give you predictions that can go from a few months to several months,’ he said.
‘There’s always a possibility with a new virus that it could persist and come back on a seasonal basis. We don’t know these things.’
Health Minister Greg Hunt sought to reassure Australians they are safe from the virus.
‘In a global situation we are not immune. But we are as well-prepared as any country.
‘And, in the end, we will get through this,’ he said.
It comes amid fears the Tokyo Olympics may be called off of the virus spreads.
Dick Pound, a former Canadian swimming champion who has been on the IOC since 1978, making him its longest-serving member, estimated there is a two-month window to decide the fate of the Tokyo Olympics, meaning a decision could be put off until late May.
He said: ‘In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: “Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?”.’
As the games draw near, he said, ‘a lot of things have to start happening.
Dick Pound, a former Canadian swimming champion who has been on the IOC since 1978 said coronavirus fears could scupper the Olympics in Tokyo
‘You’ve got to start ramping up your security, your food, the Olympic Village, the hotels. The media folks will be in there building their studios.’
If the IOC decides the games cannot go forward as scheduled in Tokyo, ‘you’re probably looking at a cancellation,’ he said.
The viral outbreak that began in China two months ago has infected more than 80,000 people globally and killed over 2,700, the vast majority of them in China.
There have been 22 cases in Australia, with no deaths from the flu-like illness.
The virus has gained a foothold in South Korea, the Middle East and Europe, raising fears of a pandemic. Japan has reported four deaths.
Pound encouraged athletes to keep training. About 11,000 are expected for the Olympics, which open July 24, and 4,400 are bound for the Paralympics, which open August 25.
‘As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo,’ Pound said. ‘All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual.
So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.’
The modern Olympics, which date to 1896, have been canceled only during wartime.
The Olympics in 1940 were supposed to be in Tokyo but were called off because of Japan’s war with China and World War II. The Rio Games in Brazil went on as scheduled in 2016 despite the outbreak of the Zika virus.
Pound repeated the IOC’s stance – that it is relying on consultations with the World Health Organization, a United Nations body, to make any move.
As for the possibility of postponement, he said: ‘You just don’t postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics.
‘There’s so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons. You can’t just say, “We’ll do it in October.”
People with masks walk past a building reflecting the New National Stadium in the Japanese capital