At least 12 individuals of the Venezuela football team tested positive for COVID-19, officials announced a day before the opening match of Copa America 2021. AFP reported that the 12 individuals who tested positive were composed of players and staff. However, details on the number of Venezuelan players that were stricken by COVID were not furthered by the officials.

Officials announced the news on Saturday before Venezuela face Brazil in the opening match of the football league.

Venezuela Football Team Members and Staff Tested Positive for COVID Before Brazil Match

In a statement, the health department in Brasilia confirmed that they were informed by the bad news on Friday night, shortly after the football team of Venezuela arrived in the country for their upcoming match, according to an Al Jazeera report. The players and staff from the football team were diagnosed by the South American Football (CONMEBOL) and informed the health authorities about their findings.

CONMEBOL confirmed that the 12 individuals were asymptomatic and are isolated in individual rooms and monitored by the CONMEBOL team and local health officials. Although the number of players was not confirmed, Health Secretary Osnei Okumoto earlier shared in an interview that 5 players and 5 staff had positive results.

Furthermore, health Secretary Okumoto also pointed out that health officials were tracing people who got contact with the people who tested positive for COVID. The health secretary added they would carry out genetic testing to find out which variant or strain of SARS-CoV-2 was carried by the Venezuelans.

Although Venezuela had players who tested positive for COVID, it seems like Copa America 2021 would continue. On Friday, CONMEBOL announced that they would allow teams unlimited substitutions for players who were ruled out due to COVID-19 results. Venezuela and Brazil are scheduled to compete on Sunday, at the Mane Garrincha stadium located in Brasilia.

Copa America 2021 Struggled to Continue Over Opposition in Brazil

The 12 individuals from Venezuela who tested positive for COVID-19 come as several groups and individuals seeking the postponement of Copa America in Brazil due to the country's COVID-19 cases. In the previous week, Brazil's Supreme court agreed to listen to the requests to block Copa America from happening in the South American nation.

The concerned were composed of coaches, players, and the Brazilian Senate Staffers, who argued and cited the cases and death rates in the country due to COVID-19. Coaches from Uruguay, Argentina, and Colombia expressed their worries, as well as Chile's coach Martin Lasarte saying that the decision to hold the football league in Brazil is a huge risk.

From the past 24 hours, the Word Health Organization (WHO) reported more than 88,000 new cases of COVID-19 in Brazil and 2,504 new deaths in the country due to the disease.

Despite the numbers of COVID cases, Brazil took a stand with the decision to hold Copa America 2021. The football league is scheduled to have its final match on July 11.

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