QUARANTINE: Lorenzo Gagli, Edoardo Molinari Isolated Over Potential Coronavirus Infection

With the international expansion of golf in recent years, it has been somewhat of a surprise that there hasn’t been any news regarding major tours and the Coronavirus outbreak. However, that all changed this week on the European Tour.

On Tuesday, news broke out that Italian nationals Lorenzo Gagli and Edoardo Molinari were forced to withdraw from the Oman Open this week due to medical reasons. Those medical reasons ended up being related to both men potentially being infected with the Coronavirus. As a precaution, both players were told to stay in separate hotel rooms until their medical tests are returned.

Gagli has been quite critical of the Oman government and the European Tour for how they’ve handled the situation.”It’s an inexplicable decision,” Gagli said. “Only us two have been excluded from the tournament, but I arrived in Muscat last Sunday and over the last few days I’ve worked out in the gym with dozens of other players. I ate with them and traveled by bus with them. If there was a risk of contagion, then they would have to isolate dozens of golfers and cancel the tournament.”

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Gagli is also fuming because he believes this is causing major economic damage because he also will have to withdraw from the Qatar Masters next week due to the quarantine. It’s also holding him up from getting a vaccine for yellow fever so he can compete in the Hero Indian Open next month. But with the dangers that the virus presents, you can’t be too safe.

Gagli claims that the decision came after he visited a doctor on Tuesday for his vaccine after arriving to Oman from Italy.Currently, Italy is the country where the Coronavirus is spreading faster than any other non-Asian country. The virus has already killed hundreds in China and has already claimed the lives of a dozen Italians so it is safe to say that all precautions are being taken to make sure that any spread of the disease is contained.

It’s understandable that Gagli is frustrated in this situation as he believes he only has a cold. However, with the potential to be otherwise, it may be better safe than sorry. Furthermore, even if he does just have to miss these next two events, there will be plenty more opportunities for him in the coming weeks.

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