Danish officials say delta variant reported during Euro 2020

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish health officials have urged soccer fans who attended the European Championship game between Denmark and Belgium on June 17 to be checked for the coronavirus after they found at least three people who later tested positive for the delta variant.

Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that about 4,000 people sat near those who tested positive.

Separately, the governing body of European soccer said Thursday it was “satisfied with the overall situation” in the tournament’s 11 host stadiums across the continent, where public authorities take the lead on managing virus issues.

“The overall rates of positive results following the group stage of the Euro 2020 tournament are still marginally low,” UEFA said in a statement.

All those who attended the three Euro 2020 games in Copenhagen had to provide valid documents showing they were not infected with COVID-19 before being allowed to enter Parken Stadium.

About 25,000 fans were allowed to attend the host team’s game against Belgium as restrictions began to ease in the country.

The head of the Danish Agency for Patient Safety said the people were infected independently of each other and were infected during the game.

“They did not get symptoms until three or four days later, which means that there must have been some kind of unknown source of infection present in the section where they sat,” Anette Lykke Petri told Danish broadcaster DR.