English Premier League Suspends Games Until 3 April Amid Coronavirus Fears

The news comes after Spain's La Liga, the Dutch Eredivisie, Portugal's Primeira Liga, and Italian Serie A were suspended due to the spread of the disease, while the German Bundesliga's fate is still up in the air.

"Following a meeting of shareholders today, it was unanimously decided to suspend the Premier League with the intention of returning on April 4", the Premier League, FA, EFL, and WSL said in a joint statement.

In a separate statement, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the situation as "unprecedented", noting that the EPL aims to reschedule the displaced fixtures.

Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v West Ham United - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - February 24, 2020 West Ham United's Pablo Fornals celebrates scoring their second goal as Liverpool's Alisson looks dejected Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.

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Numerous precautions were earlier taken after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi were diagnosed with coronavirus, sparking fears in the country. At the moment, there are 590 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United Kingdom, and the death toll from the infection is at least 10.

In the meantime, other European countries have also had to cancel mass gatherings, including sporting events, as the number of those infected continues to rise daily. In total, there are over 127,000 infected across the globe, and about 5,000 lives have been claimed by the disease.