The impact of the Coronavirus outbreak on sport is coming closer to home with the Irish Women’s Hockey team abandoning plans to fly to Malaysia for a pre-Olympics camp.
Across Asia, events are being cancelled and the movement of people restricted as medical professionals struggle to contain the virus.
The death toll has now risen above 500, including that yesterday of the doctor in China who first raised the alarm.
In terms of a global pandemic that remains very small but until the virus is contained there will be unease about the long term planning of major events.
The World Indoor Athletics Championships were due to be held in Nanjing in March but were cancelled after advice from the World Health Organisation.
The start of the Chinese Football and Basketball Championship seasons have been postponed indefinitely. Vietnam has cancelled all major sporting events for the month of February and the Tokyo Local Organising Committee for the Olympic Games have created a special Task Force amid concerns that public fears will lead to a greater crackdown.
Without wishing to add to the panic we looked back earlier this week on the impact on the sport of the battle to contain the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001.
The St Patrick’s Day Parade was moved from March to May. All GAA matches were called off through February and March. The Cheltenham Festival was abandoned and Ireland’s home games in the Six Nations Championship were held over and not played until the autumn.
Cathay Pacific airlines have asked staff to take three weeks of unpaid leave to stave off a financial squeeze caused by flights being restricted across Asia.
It may yet blow over and calm restored but looking to the horizon and seeing the preparations being made across Asia for ever greater clampdowns on the movement of people, sporting authorities need to be mindful of what could be coming and cognisant that public health will always trump the completion of a fixture list.
