DUSHANBE: Tajikistan, one of just a handful nations that had pressed ahead with a football season despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, said on Sunday it was suspending games until May 10 after the government decided to take fresh precautionary measures.

The suspension will take effect from Monday, the Tajik football federation said, with Sunday games still set to take place with no spectators, just like the previous matches. The federation “completely supports” the government’s decision to halt sporting events, it said in a statement.

Tajikistan, which borders China, has reported no coronavirus cases, although its ex-Soviet neighbours have confirmed hundreds. Cases of pneumonia and a suspected swine flu fatality have caused concern, however.

Tajikistan’s authoritarian government insists there are no coronavirus cases in the country, despite reports of several suspicious deaths.

On Saturday, the Dushanbe government decided to close schools for two weeks and ban the exports of grains and pulses to ensure domestic supply.

Tajikistan’s football season began on April 4 after leagues the world over stopped, with matches being played in empty stadiums.

Another Central Asian country that has yet to record any Covid-19 cases, Turkmenistan, restarted its league with fans in attendance on April 19 after a hiatus enforced as a precaution against the virus in late March.

The league in ex-Soviet Belarus has also continued despite 67 Covid-19 deaths in the country, attracting a new soccer-starved global fan base, despite dwindling local spectators.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2020