The match was held as part of the Oceania Championships in New Caledonia, the FDC News media outlet reported. According to the Health Ministry, there are fears that the players and officials may have had contacts with people, infected with measles during the match, as the Tongan players have not been vaccinated.
Fiji Futsal team stopped from leaving New Caledonia until they are tested and cleared for measles (via @fijivillage) https://t.co/OAMv2IQ7i1
— Fijivillage (@fijivillage) November 3, 2019
The authorities said it may take two weeks to make sure that the team’s return will pose no epidemiological threat.
Vice President of the Fiji Football Association Jiten Reddy said that there had been so far no signs of contacts between the national team players and measles-infected people.
The measles outbreak started in New Zealand and Samoa in February, and later hit the Kingdom of Tonga after the Tongan rugby players returned home from New Zealand. According to the government of the Kingdom of Tonga, 107 confirmed and suspected cases were identified as of October 28.
In June, an American couple, David and Michelle Paul, died from an unidentified illness while they were on vacation in Fiji.
