Cristiano Ronaldo tests positive for coronavirus


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Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for Covid-19, Portugal's Football Federation confirmed on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old is said to be "doing well, without symptoms, and in isolation", with no further positive tests reported in the squad ahead of Wednesday's Uefa Nations League match against Sweden.

Former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward Ronaldo had played in both of Portugal's matches so far during the international break.

Ronaldo started against Spain in Lisbon, coming off late in the second half of the goalless draw, and then played the whole of the Nations League A3 fixture against France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.

The 35-year-old had scored in each of his Serie A appearances this season, including a brace in the 2-2 draw against Roma on September 27.

Ronaldo is now set to miss Juve's Serie A trip to Crotone on Saturday and their Champions League group stage opening game away to Dynamo Kiev next Tuesday.

He is also a doubt for Juventus' match with Barcelona on October 28, which was set to was set go head-to-head once again with his old rival Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo is the highest-profile footballer to test positive for Covid-19, which has killed over a million people since the start of the pandemic earlier this year.

Brazil forward Neymar, his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic have also tested positive for the virus in recent weeks.

Portugal currently has 89,121 reported cases of Covid-19 with 2,110 deaths and 54,047 recovered. Its population is approximately 10.1 million.

The country initially won praise for its quick response to the pandemic, but, like most other European countries, has seen the number of infections rise again, concentrated in Lisbon and the country’s northern region, after a summer lull.

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Three-day coronation

Royal purification

The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.

The crown

Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.

The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.

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On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.

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The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.

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On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.

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