BELGRADE, October 23 (RIA Novosti) – Montenegro has refused to issue visas for 35 athletes from Africa set to participate in the annual Podgorica Marathon on Sunday because of the threat of Ebola, Milan Madzgalj, the event's general secretary was quoted as saying Thursday by local media.
About 10 athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia living in Europe were allowed to participate, Madzgalj said, local media reported.
This year, the annual marathon held in Montenegro's capital will host a total of 378 professional athletes coming from 35 countries around the world.
It is not for the first time that Ebola, a deadly virus from West Africa, has forced sporting authorities to take measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
In September, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) introduced an indefinite ban on international matches in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in order to contain the virus.
In August, ahead of Youth Olympic Games in China, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned three young athletes from West Africa from competing in certain events, while others from this region were required to undergo medical checks twice a day during the competition.
The Ebola virus disease epidemic began in West Africa in February and later spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. In August, the Ebola outbreak was declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). Last week, the organization confirmed that the outbreak in Senegal is now over. Earlier this week, Nigeria was also declared Ebola-free. The total number of Ebola cases has hit 9,936, with the death toll reaching 4,877 people as of October 19, according to the WHO.
