Fernando Gaviria has been released from a UAE hospital after recovering from coronavirus Covid-19 and is trying to find a flight home to Colombia, the team announced.

The UAE Team Emirates sprinter was taken to the hospital after the UAE tour ended on February 27 and the team entered voluntary quarantine.

Gaviria was presumed to have contracted the virus shortly thereafter after the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention confirmed that six people, including one Colombian, had been infected during the recent UAE tour. only two Colombian riders on the UAE tour, Hernando Bohorquez of Astana, were first tested He was allowed to leave the country after.

Gaviria later confirmed the news in a video message from a UAE hospital on March 13. He appeared to have only mild symptoms and was cleared for discharge on Thursday night after a series of Covid-19 tests came back negative all three times.

"The last test was negative and the doctor discharged me. Now I am focused on going home and seeing my family," Gaviria said in a message posted on Instagram, which included photos of him with other UAE Team Emirates staff and friends.

On Wednesday, Gaviria's lead out man and close friend Max Richeze announced that he had been released from a UAE hospital after testing negative for the coronavirus Covid-19. He has since joined his family in Monaco.

The UAE Tour was cancelled with two stages remaining due to a suspected Covid-19 infection during the race, and all riders, support staff, race organization, and media were quarantined to a hotel in Abu Dhabi.

Two days later, 18 of the 22 competing teams were allowed to leave the United Arab Emirates, but Gazprom Rusvelo, Cofidis, and Groupama-FDJ remained quarantined in the same hotel. Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ were allowed to leave the country on March 8.

Since then, the coronavirus outbreak has spread around the world and more and more countries have been quarantined to control the spread of the virus and limit its impact on victims who need intensive care.

Gaviria was grateful for the treatment he received in the UAE.

"I want to thank all the medical team that took care of me in the UAE for their excellent work and dedication, and all those who supported me during this recuperation and recovery period," he said in a message.

"I hope and pray that this extraordinary situation will soon pass and I can return to normalcy."