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There have been rising Covid-19 cases in the opposition’s camp every time they face hosts Cameroon in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations Championship in Cameroon.
Ahead of the Cameroon’s opener, five Burkina Faso players were reported to have tested positive for Covid whereas there was no player from the hosts’ camp were reported to have tested positive.
The second game had Ethiopia with a reported eight positive case while just like the case in the first game, still Cameroon recorded no cases. Two Cape Verde players tested positive in the third game and still Cameroon recorded zero.
The issues continued into the knock-out round with the West African country reporting twelve-players, including two goalkeepers from the Comoros camp to have tested positive against none before their encounter. Comoros were forced to field left back Chaker Alhadhur in goal to ensure they played the game.
So, why is it that only opposition players are testing positive for Covid. Could it be that the hosts are just too careful with their bubble? Could this be a tactic to weaken the opposition?
On the side of the fans, it all appears to be in line because the protocol is observed before you get to the actual game.
The Touchline Sports had a chat with a traveling fan, Mamadou Sall, a man in his late 20s, who is among the hundreds of Guinean fans massing outside the stadium in Yaounde to watch his country’s last group match against Zimbabwe. But his entry is delayed because he must pass through the COVID-19 protocol.
“It’s a shame that the game has already started and I am still here,” Sall said. “I travelled all the way from Douala (233km, 145 miles) just for this game, and now I’m being delayed due to COVID (protocol).”
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) had announced before the tournament that attendance of games involving hosts will not exceed 80 percent while that of other teams would be capped at 60 with the fans needing to display their vaccination pass as well as a negative PCR test result to be granted access into the stadium.
So just like Mamadou Sall, all the other fans go through the same protocol. But how about those outside the stadiums! For Odette Abega, who turned up at the fan zone with her three children, the vibes and atmosphere were similar to that inside the stadium.
“There’s a large screen here. I laugh and enjoy the games here without anybody asking for a COVID test or vaccination card. We Cameroonians love football, and we have devised a means to watch the games outside the stadium,” she says to Aljazeera.
Just two percent of Cameroon’s population is believed to be fully vaccinated, at least according to the most recent estimates and reports. They play Gambia in their next fixture at the quarter-finals on Saturday.
For now the question can be – is the COVID only in the opposition’s national team camps or into the fans too? Why not Cameroon?
