Antigua & Barbuda have confirmed their withdrawal from the Carifta Games, scheduled to take place in Bermuda next month, amid the worldwide spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The 49th Carifta Games are scheduled from April 10 to 13. However, Antigua & Barbuda’s Minister of Sport Daryll Matthew confirmed his government’s decision to pull out of the event after discussions with Prime Minister Gaston Browne and other relevant health minsters and officials yesterday.

“We are cognizant of the fact that our young people have been preparing for over a year for these events and having weighed this against the safety of our young people, we made a decision to withdraw from the competitions,” said Matthew, speaking to The Daily Observer newspaper.

“We have communicated this information to the relevant officials which made up the Antigua & Barbuda team to include president of the Athletics Association, Swimming Association and the director of sports and they are in support of the decision,”

To date, jumpers Taeco O’Garro, Sheldon Noble, Mia McIntosh and Alyssa Dyett were the only Antiguan athletes who had qualified for the event.

Speaking last week, Donna Raynor, president of the Bermuda National Athletics Association, was confident that the Covid-19 threat, which has more than 129,500 confirmed cases and 4,500 deaths worldwide, would not disrupt the staging of the Games, which could involve more than 600 athletes and coaches from 27 Caribbean countries, along with supporters from various islands.

The spread of the virus has already put the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer in jeopardy, while the International Triathlon Union confirmed that MS Amlin World Triathlon Bermuda, scheduled for the weekend after Carifta, will go ahead as planned.