Ronaldo COVID-Free after 19 Days But Virus Hits Other Serie A Teams

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo tested negative for coronavirus after almost three weeks, but the Atalanta, Sassuolo, Crotone and Parma Serie A clubs announced new cases on Friday.

Ronaldo was the first to test positive for Covid-19 on October 13 while playing with Portugal, reports AFP.

"Ronaldo carried out a check with a diagnostic test (swab) for Covid-19. The exam provided a negative result," the Italian champions said in a statement.

"The player has, therefore, recovered after 19 days and is no longer subjected to home isolation."

Juventus next play at Spezia on Sunday, with all the matches now behind closed doors.

Serie A leaders AC Milan also confirmed that defenseman Matteo Gabbia, goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma and striker Jens Petter Hauge had all tested negative.

Donnarumma and Hauge "are allowed to return to school" before the unbeaten journey of Milan to Udinese on Sunday, with Gabbia undergoing "medical screening" on Saturday.

A record number of over 31,000 people on Friday tested positive for Covid-19 in a 24-hour period in Italy.

Ronaldo, a 35-year-old, missed four games, including Wednesday's 2-0 Champions League win over Lionel Messi's Barcelona, and Juventus' 2-0 win over Dynamo Kiev in their Group G opening.

The return of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner will be a boost for Andrea Pirlo, who is fifth in Serie A, four points behind the AC Milan leader.

Ronaldo scored three goals in Juventus's first two league games -- a 3-0 win over Sampdoria and both goals in a 2-2 draw at AS Roma.

But the nine-time reigning champions had three straight league draws, Roma (2-2), Crotone (1-1) and Verona (1-1).

They were awarded a 3-0 victory after Napoli declined to fly to Turin on 4 October due to coronavirus cases.

Ronaldo was upset at sitting out this week's meeting with Messi, having reportedly tested positive for the 18th time.

They have not faced off since the five-time Ballon d'Or winner left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018.

- Lazio tests -

Ronaldo had caused controversy even before testing positive by travelling to Portugal while Juventus were in isolation after two virus cases.

On his return to Italy on 14 October, the day after a positive examination, Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora accused the star of "violating" Italian coronavirus.

Other Juventus players, including Blaise Matuidi and Paulo Dybala, tested positive during the first wave of the pandemic earlier this year, while Argentina tested negative after 45 days.

But as Ronaldo recovered, other cases were announced in the Italian league.

In Bergamo, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini's pre-match press conference Friday before the Crotone game this weekend was canceled after a positive case among coaching staff.

Crotone also reported that their center Salvatore Molina had 'light symptoms' and was insulating at home.

Sassuolo, who travels to Napoli, has three new cases, one a player, while Parma, who plays Inter Milan, has confirmed that two players have been infected for the second time.

Lazio are awaiting tests results after players including star striker Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto missed their Champions League draw at Club Brugge as a precautionary measure.

Coach Simone Inzaghi's press conference before Sunday's game against Torino has been cancelled with half the squad reported to be self-isolating.

The Rome club are scheduled to travel to Torino on Sunday before hosting Juventus the following weekend.

Series A applies the UEFA rules that allow a match to take place as long as a side of 13 healthy players, including a goalkeeper.

A club with an active outbreak of Covid-19 with more than 10 new positive cases per week will be the only potential exception.

In that case, the club will request a postponement, but only once during the season, as was the case with Genoa 's game against Torino earlier this month.

That match has been rescheduled for next Wednesday.