Coronavirus Forces Chantilly to Close to Public

The March 3 card at Chantilly will be run behind closed doors as French public health officials react to the threat posed by coronavirus.

France Galop announced the measure Feb. 29 after consulting with authorities in the Oise department in northern France, the region to have the most recorded cases of coronavirus.

On Saturday, there were 36 confirmed cases in Oise out of a national total of 100.

Meetings at nearby Compiegne on Monday and Wednesday will also be closed to the public.

The main meeting at Auteuil in Paris on Sunday was to go ahead without special precautions, with racing authorities being guided by requests from local and regional government.

On Friday, the French government announced a temporary ban on indoor gatherings of more than 5,000 people.

Ireland's final Six Nations encounter at the Stade de France March 14 is one of the events that could be impacted if the outbreak escalates.

There are three trial races for Dubai World Cup Night on the Chantilly card, and among those on show is last season's Lucien Barriere Grand Prix de Deauville (G2) winner Ziyad, as well as Godolphin pair Impulsif and Syrtis.

Betfair Exchange's market on whether Day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival March 10 will go ahead has seen more than £750,000 matched.

"No" opened at 4.1 and has traded at a high of 4.4 since the market was created Tuesday, but Sunday the festival was 2.9 to be called off and 1.51 to go ahead.

Trainer Nicky Henderson said it was vital that the festival was rescheduled if it was called off by the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking on "Luck On Sunday," he said: "I spoke to Martin St Quinton (Cheltenham chairman) last night and Simon Claisse (Cheltenham clerk of the course) this morning, and they were very positive, but they have to be. It's on until anything ghastly happens, and (the decision will) come from the government, of course.

"It's different from 2001 when we had the foot-and-mouth (disease) as that was something between DEFRA and racing to make their minds up. I think it's vital, whatever happens, that this is staged at some point. If we were forced to stop, how long is the break period going to be?"

On Sunday, 12 new coronavirus cases were revealed in Britain as it continues to cause disruption to big events in Europe.

On Saturday, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed the positive tests for the virus, taking the overall number of confirmed cases to 23 from more than 10,000 people tested.

Professor Chris Whitty, the U.K.'s chief medical officer, said in a statement Sunday: "As of 9 a.m. this morning, three further patients in England have tested positive for Covid-19. Two patients recently returned from Italy, and the other patient recently returned from Asia. All three are being investigated, and contact tracing has begun.

"One case is from Gloucestershire, one from Hertfordshire, and one from Berkshire."

On Saturday evening, an infant school in Woodley, Berkshire, issued a statement saying one of its members of staff had tested positive for the virus and it would be closing for a deep clean.

On Friday, the BHA stressed there was "no need at this time" to develop a policy for the abandonment of fixtures, in line with the approach taken by other sports, but added it would continue to consult closely with the government and "plan for a range of contingencies."

European sport continues to be impacted with a further five Italian Serie A matches postponed this weekend—following four last weekend—due to concerns about the respiratory virus spreading.

Schools and universities in three northern Italian regions will stay closed for a second consecutive week, and the French government has issued a ban on all public gatherings of more than 5,000 people in a confined space after the country confirmed 16 new cases, taking its total to 100.

The Swiss government has banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people, and racing in Japan and Hong Kong will take place behind closed doors.

Japan is one of the worst-affected countries with 226 cases so far. Paddy Power on Friday made the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo a 4-6 shot to be called off.