African Cup of Nations players, visitors to receive Ebola test
LONDON --
All players entering Equatorial Guinea for the African Cup of Nations 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 was the first team to arrive on Tuesday and was 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 has 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 traveling 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 has 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.