MARTIN MAZUR / AIPS  – BUENOS AIRES: “We accept the reality so easily, maybe because we feel that nothing is real.” The quote of the great Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges explains, three decades after his death, the coronavirus crisis.

When the crisis exploded in Wuhan, the Western Hemisphere thought it was a Chinese problem. Measures to contain the deadly virus were slow and sloppy. When Covid-19 arrived in Europe, bringing the northern Italy to its knees, some citizens still took it as an exaggeration, continuing with their social lives as if it were nothing.
.
Now Italy is in lockdown while, in some other neighbouring countries, life continues as if their citizens were from a different species. Do not  be mistaken: when it comes to Covid-19, there are no labyrinths, no parallels, just a straight line. There is not an ‘if’. There is only a ‘when’. Some are more advanced in this nightmare, some are still starting. But the route is the same for all.

South America still appears relaxed about it and the measures taken are varied and unconnected.

Carlos Tevez leads Boca's celebrations last weekend

It is summer, and temperatures certainly help. Heat does not kill the virus but at least contributes to isolate potential carriers.

The flu season has not yet started, so anyone with those symptoms, and who has recently travelled, should be isolated and tested. But what will happen three months from now, when cases are no longer imported and the flu season is at its peak?

Exactly three months from now, the strangest Copa America of all-time should be played . . .  or will it be?

Travel festival
.
Half of it will be in Colombia, the other half in Argentina. The Northern and the Western tips of South America united in a festival of travelling. In other words: some great news for Covid-19, unless a restrictive measure is taken.
.
But thinking of the Copa America seems as a long shot now that the World Cup qualifiers for Qatar 2022 are round the corner. In two weeks, Argentina should host Ecuador but the latest decree from the Health Minister of Buenos Aires prohibited international shows.
.
Is football an island, different to a rock festival?In any case, out of the 4,500 tickets reserved for Ecuadorians travelling to Buenos Aires, only two have been sold so far. If those are going to be the Copa America ticketing numbers, then it will not be prevention but fear of financial disaster which puts the Copa America on hold.
.
AIPS vice-president Gabriel Cazenave from Paraguay, where South American confederation CONMEBOL is based, said: “We still do not have any confirmed cases. In Paraguay there is only one, who came from Ecuador, and got infected with the people coming from Europe, so in terms of seasonal impact, it is still very limited, but could change two months from now.W”

So far, the days in their headquarters are filled with meetings about potential crisis scenarios, but nothing specific has been decided. The Copa Libertadores has just started and faces a long year full of uncertainty.

A CONMEBOL statement said: “CONMEBOL will announce in detail each possible risk and study how it might affect its competitions. The confederation will agree with local and national governments, and with the associations and clubs, the needed measures to preserve the health of players, fans and the continental football family.”

Questions, questions
.
The press release did not enter into details. But it is details that make reality.The more measures are published, the more questions pop up. For instance, will the likes of Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado be able to flee Italy to play for their countries? Or is this the sort of justified work reasons that prime minister Giovanni Conte has announced?

There is no unity regarding coronavirus, not inside a country, not in the continent.

In some cases there are  temperature tests, in others, simply forms to fill. The grave situation in Italy, France and Spain has not entirely sunk in.
.
According to Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro “the power of coronavirus is greatly exaggerated.”
.
It is more or less exactly the same speech that Donald Trump tweets, even if the State of New York already declared an emergency and three cruise liners are on hold in United States waters. The Masters 1000 of Cincinnati has become the first important tournament to be suspended due to coronavirus fears. How many more will follow?
.
Chile conundrum
.
In Chile, a country affected by social protests since last year, coronavirus was first frowned upon, seen by some people as a government tool to calm people down, “but then it was quickly understood that it was a matter of public health,” said Danilo Diaz, president of the Círculo de Periodistas Deportivos, part of the AIPS family.
.
He added: “Now the big question is regarding the start of the qualifiers. A rock star, Sammy Hagar, who was going to be playing in the country for the first time, called off the show.”
.
Chile, as Díaz explained, is also preparing for a referendum to change the constitution, set to take place in April. Imagine the potential risk of contagion if all the citizens in the country are queuing up to vote inside schools.
.
In Argentina, the international airport of Buenos Aires still displays notices for the attention of “those coming back from China’. With the rapid spread in Europe, those notices appear to be from a different age. Out of the 15 confirmed cases in Argentina, 14 came from Europe, mainly from Italy, and one from the United States.

Last week, when River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo had to travel to Ecuador for a Copa Libertadores fixture, he decided to stay, as he was running a fever. The risk was that he would be forced to remain in Quito for two weeks and not be able to return for the last game of the domestic tournament.

So far, Ecuador is the only country that has ordered two games to be played behind closed doors.

More cases

The latest reports show only 86 confirmed cases among the 430m people living in the 13 countries of South America. But 10 days ago, there were none. Anyone reading the news from Italy knows already know how fast things can escalate.

Argentinian Health Minister Ginés González García has now admitted that he thought “coronavirus was not going to come so early”, having first said that anyone with the symptoms should go to a hospital.

Now, the protocols have been adjusted and all potential cases are being treated at home to reduce the risk of contagion. Travellers coming back from eight countries are being asked to stay at home for 14 days, without losing their wages.
.
Will this measure apply to Messi, Di María or Dybala? How can police avoid 30,000 celebrating a title arouond the Obelisco, as did Boca Juniors fans last Saturday?Again, football appears to be detached from reality. Maybe, as Borges said, because we feel that nothing is real.
.
##############