Two days before resumption of Primeira Liga, Sporting records 10 positive cases of COVID-19

Lisbon: Two days before the resumption of the Portuguese league, Lisbon club Sporting has 10 positive coronavirus cases, including eight players and coach Ruben Amorim, sources close to the club told AFP on Wednesday.

All those infected were asymptomatic, said the source.

The Portuguese league is due to resume on Friday behind closed doors. Sporting's opening game is on Saturday at home to another hard-hit club, Gil Vicente.

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Gil Vicente said they have 15 positive cases, including 10 players and five members of the coaching team, but resumed training on Wednesday with players who tested negative.

"The quarantine has been lifted and the team resumed training this morning with the 15 available athletes," while the positive cases "remain in isolation," a club spokesman told AFP.

For now, Saturday's game has not been cancelled, but Portugal's Health Secretary Antonio Lacerda said on Monday that the authorities would make an assessment "before each game".

Last Sunday, Sporting had to cancel a friendly against the Italian club Napoli after three positive cases among the players. By Tuesday, that number had risen to seven.

Portugal, which has suffered a jump in cases, tightened health restrictions from this week.

According to official figures published on Wednesday, Portugal has recorded three deaths and 605 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in 24 hours. The country of 10 million has recorded 1,867 deaths and nearly 64,000 confirmed cases.