Reports in Saudi Arabia have confirmed a first Saudi footballer has been found positive for COVID-19.
Arriyadiah newspaper has reported that Hesham Al-Hashem, a 19-year-old youth player of Al-Huda Club, was found positive in his second coronavirus test which he performed yesterday (Tuesday, March 24th).
According to the report, Al-Hashem was infected with the virus by another infected person who was in contact with his family.
Al-Hashem began treatment under the full auspices of the Ministry of Health. The young player was among the four infected people in his county, Qatif, as revealed yesterday by the Saudi Ministry of Health. Hesham he is the first athlete in the Arab world that is reported to be infected by the Coronavirus.
Only a couple of days ago, Saudi Arabia announced its first victim as a result of the pandemic, and it seems that these days are critical in the kingdom’s battle with the virus. So far, the country has listed 900 cases of infections. The Saudi League was one of the first leagues in the region to stop its activity due to the situation. All games were postponed since the beginning of March, in an act that meant to prevent the spreading of the virus.
As mentioned, Hesham’s case is one of the first published cases of a footballer that has been infected by the virus, across the region. Last month, Elham Sheykhi, an Iranian female futsal player, died from the pandemic in Qom, Iran.
After the case in Saudi Arabia, it is quite likely that there will be more news of this type in the up and coming weeks. Let’s hope it won’t be the case.