More than 40,000 fans gathered on a historic night for Atalanta and Valencia at the iconic San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy.
One of the main reasons why Bergamo (in Italy) is a hotbed of coronavirus is the Champions League match between Atalanta and Valencia.
A respiratory specialist indicated that it was a "biological bomb", while Bergamo Mayor Giorgio Gori admitted that there was no way to stop it.
"It was in mid-February, so we had no conditions for what was going on," Gori said earlier this week during a live chat on Facebook.
“If what they say about the virus actually spreading to Europe in January is very true, it is very likely that 40,000 Bergamaschi in San Siro’s positions together will share the virus with each other.” As much as possible, as many Bergamaschi gathered that night in homes and bars to watch the match and did the same.
"Unfortunately, we could not find out. No one knew that the virus was already here. It is inevitable," the mayor added.
Less than a week after the match, the first cases were reported in Bergamo County. Here is everything you need to know about the fateful game.
When was the Atalanta match against Valencia held?
The Champions League (first leg) match between Atalanta (from Serie A) and Valencia (from La Liga) took place on February 19. Two days later, the first case of COVID-19 societal transmission was confirmed. Atalanta won 4-1.
Where held Atalanta against Valencia?
The match was played at the famous San Siro stadium in Milan because the Atalanta stadium in Bergamo did not meet UEFA standards.
How many people attended Atalanta 's match against Valencia?
The official attendance of the competition is 45,792, which is a record for "Atalanta". It was the largest game in the history of Atalanta and a third of Bergamo residents made a 37-mile trip from Bergamo to Milan. Out of 120,000 people, more than 40,000 have gone to San Siro. Fans traveling in 2500.
Why is this party called a "biological bomb"?
As thousands of fans gathered in a square without warning, the conditions for spreading the virus were high. He also states that prior to the match, fanatic travelers were roaming freely in Milan.
"I heard many (theories), I will tell me: on February 19, 40,000 Bergamaschi went to San Siro for Atalanta Valencia," Fabiano de Marco, chief pneumologist at Bergamo Hospital, told the Italian newspaper Corriere. Della Sera. "On buses, cars and trains. An organic bomb, unfortunately.
How many players were affected after the game?
Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello showed a positive result for COVID-19. More than a third of the Valencia team were infected. Valencia and Argentine defender Ezequiel Garay was the first La Liga player to achieve a positive result for COVID-19. As for the fans, none of the more than 40,000 fans affected by the virus have yet been identified.
Last week, the Bergamo cemetery overwhelmed the death toll to the point that military trucks began transporting corpses to a nearby area in order to cremate. Italy remained the European country with the majority of cases, nearly 70,000 deaths and about 7,000 deaths, most of which were in the world and more than twice that of China..
Spain is the next country in Europe with the most cases, nearly 48,000, and it has surpassed China in the number of deaths with more than 3,400.
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