When news broke that Juventus defender Daniele Rugani tested positive for the coronavirus, Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was visiting his mother back in Portugal, where he likely will be stuck until the outbreak has subsided or when Serie A games have been resumed. Ronaldo has sent word he will not return to Italy as a precautionary measure.
The last time Rugani played was in the Juventus' 2-0 win over Inter Milan on February 22. Reports said Ronaldo shared a dressing room with the infected player, so it makes sense that for safety's sake, he will be keeping a distance deliberately.
The Sun reported that Ronaldo and his family are holed in his Madeira home. He rushed to his homeland last Sunday to check on his mother, who recently suffered a stroke.
"With his mother in the fragile state, Ronaldo will be especially wary of the risks of the Coronavirus," the report said.
Football league officials in Italy have announced that Serie A games will not be played again until April 3. Before the suspension of games, clubs were forced to play without spectators, which was the case with the last match played by Ronaldo and Rugani together.
While the domestic schedules have been postponed in Italy, Juventus will need to play in the Champions League, although it is widely anticipated that European matches will also be rescheduled as the coronavirus outbreak continues unabated.
In the UK, the killer bug already has infected 460 people, and authorities confirmed that eight have died due to COVID-19.
It is Italy, however, that is considered as the hardest hit in Europe as the virus cases in the country have already an alarming level. The New York Post said the casualty numbers reported by Italian authorities were surpassed only by the cases in China.
As of this week, Italy said 12,462 infections had been confirmed, and those who died have reached 827.
Notably, Juventus is based where the coronavirus infection has been surging and where a total lockdown has been ordered by the national government, somehow justifying the decision made by Ronaldo to keep away from the country for now.
According to Mirror, the 35-year-old is staying in his Madeira home and accompanied by close family members.
In a statement, the Italian giants have confirmed that Ronaldo will not return to Italy anytime soon, saying, "Cristiano Ronaldo has not trained and remains in Madeira awaiting developments with the current health crisis."
The club also indicated that after Rugani had tested positive, "all the isolation procedures required by law," have been activated and everyone known to have contact with the player have been subjected to quarantine.
