German broadcaster to miss Vietnam Grand Prix through coronavirus fears

German television broadcaster RTL have confirmed that they will not be sending personnel to Vietnam for the grand prix in April, believing the threat of the coronavirus to be too high.

RTL have decided that they will not risk the health of their staff and, rather than send them to Vietnam, will broadcast their content from a studio on Germany.

In a statement, RTL confirmed, “The entire production of the live broadcast is moved to Cologne.”

The Chinese Grand Prix has already been cancelled due to an outbreak of the coronavirus, and the situation in neighbouring Vietnam is being closely monitored by Formula One officials.

“We have a high level of responsibility to our employees,” said RTL sports director Manfred Loppe. “After careful examination, we believe that in reporting from Hanoi, the risks to their health appear to be too great.

“We came to this decision after querying numerous information points, and the bottom line is that we did not receive what we considered to be a reliable assessment of the situation on site.”

There remains a quarantined area containing 10,000 people just outside of the capital city of Hanoi as Vietnam hope to contain the spread of the virus in the country.

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