Monday, June 29, 2009

Wimbledon fears of Swine flu

Some staff at the Wimbledon tennis championships have reported "flu-like" symptoms, but the competition will continue "as normal", organisers said on Monday.
Ian Ritchie, the chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which runs the annual Grand Slam in southwest London, sent a message to staff to inform them of the situation.
Club sources told AFP that a handful of ball boys and ball girls were affected, but nobody had been confirmed as having contracted the A(H1N1) virus.
The club takes on approximately 4 600 extra staff to run the grass court championships, including 250 ball boys and girls recruited from local schools.
More than 4 300 swine flu cases have been diagnosed in Britain.
"A small number of our championships' personnel have reported a flu-like illness and have consequently been asked to stay at home," Ritchie said.
"Having consulted closely with the Health Protection Agency, we have been reassured that since the incidence is entirely in line with the wider London community, there is no particular extra risk to all those connected with the event, be they players, media, staff or spectators.
Monitoring situation
"We are able to continue with the championships as normal. We shall of course be monitoring the situation closely," Ritchie added.
Venus Williams, the defending Wimbledon ladies' singles champion, said she was not worried about the situation.
"I just got a letter. I haven't read it. But I guess there's sicknesses all around. Hopefully the players won't get sick," the US tennis champ said.
"Hopefully our immune systems are strong enough. That's what they're there for. We're going to all put ours in use, take vitamin C, keep playing, and call it a day."
The second Briton to die after contracting swine flu succumbed on Saturday, but authorities said the 73-year-old man had "underlying health problems".
Swine flu has infected more than 70 000 people worldwide with 311 deaths since late March, the World Health Organisation said on Monday.

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