Pep Guardiola’s 82-year-old mother has died after contracting coronavirus, Manchester City announced on Monday.
“The Manchester City family are devastated to report the death today of Pep’s mother Dolors Sala Carrio in Manresa, Barcelona, after contracting coronavirus,” the Premier League club said in a statement.
“Everyone associated with the club sends their most heartfelt sympathy at this most distressing time to Pep, his family and all their friends.” Guardiola, 49, last month donated one million euros ($1 million) to buy medical supplies for the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in his native Spain.
Everyone associated with the club sends their most heartfelt sympathy at this most distressing time to Pep, his family and all their friends.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 6, 2020
He also issued a video as part of the club’s Cityzens At Home initiative urging fans to stay at home.
Spain declared Monday a fourth consecutive drop in the number of coronavirus-related deaths, with 637 over the past 24 hours, the lowest number in nearly two weeks.
Fatalities, which were sharply down on the record 950 on Thursday, brought the total deaths in the country to 13,055, second only to Italy.
Overall the virus has infected over 12,89,000 people worldwide while also claiming over 70,000 lives.
The dreaded coronavirus has brought the entire sporting world to a standstill. Most of the high profile tournaments including the Tokyo Olympics, Euro 2020, Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, NBA and the Indian Premier League have either been postponed or called off.
Although some tournaments had initially been pushed back by only a month, it is extremely likely that some of these tournaments would be cancelled as the world continues to battle coronavirus and the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise.
There is no sure shot treatment of the infection and social distancing, self-isolation and hand hygiene remain the only ways of preventing oneself from being infected.
(With inputs from AFP via PTI)