Due to the spreading delta variant of the corona virus, more and more EM venues are coming into the focus of critics.
The situation is also getting worse in Saint Petersburg.
Saint Petersburg - The delta variant of the corona virus is still on the advance in Europe - experts are therefore worried about some of the venues of the current European Football Championship.
First of all, the venue in London, where both semi-finals and the final are to be played, came under criticism due to the increasing number of new infections.
Now the next location is developing into a corona hotspot: Saint Petersburg.
Coronavirus: Negative record values in Russia - EM quarter-finals should take place
The first European Championship quarter-finals between Switzerland and Spain are to take place there on Friday. Regardless of the latest developments in the infection process in the Russian metropolis. On Monday, the local authorities reported 110 corona deaths within 24 hours in Saint Petersburg alone. On Tuesday there were 119 dead again. The Baltic metropolis is thus developing into an infection hotspot within Russia, where a total of 652 additional fatalities have been reported. A record since the pandemic began.
However, there are apparently no plans on the part of UEFA to change location for the quarter-finals on Friday.
A spokesman for the association confirmed that "there are no plans to change the venue".
The local organizers also told the AFP news agency: "The quarter-finals will take place as planned."
Coronavirus in Saint Petersburg: Low vaccination readiness in Russia - 300 Finnish fans tested positive
What a game in front of spectators could mean for the course of the pandemic in Europe has also been shown in Finland in the past few days.
There, around 300 Finnish fans tested positive for the corona virus after traveling to their team's group games in Saint Petersburg.
One reason for the high number of infections in Russia could also be the low willingness of the population to vaccinate.
According to recent publications, only about 11.5 percent of the population have been immunized by vaccination.
(fd)
List of rubric lists: © Maxim Shemetov / dpa