Football
Associated Press 9y

All players, visitors to be checked for Ebola at African Nations Cup

LONDON -- All players entering Equatorial Guinea for the African Nations Cup will be tested for Ebola, as well as all visitors to the country.

Julia Nchama Abeso Avomo, the administrative attache at the country's embassy in London, said everyone entering Equatorial Guinea will go through a short medical check upon arrival as a precautionary measure.

Cape Verde were the first team to arrive on Tuesday and were checked, according to the Confederation of African Football. Congo, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Republic of Congo and Ghana were to arrive on Wednesday.

"All the delegations are landing in Malabo for health checks," CAF said in a statement. "It was the case for Cape Verde yesterday and DR Congo today. And it will be the case for all the teams."

Equatorial Guinea have no reported cases of Ebola.

The small, oil-rich nation in Central Africa took over as host of the tournament at short notice from Morocco, which didn't want to stage the championship because of fears over the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and fans travelling from that region.

Ebola has claimed over 8,000 lives, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Guinea is the only one of those three that have qualified for the African Cup.

The 16-team tournament opens on Saturday, and will be played in four cities, including in the capital Malabo and the largest city, Bata.

The final is scheduled for Feb. 8 in Bata.

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