The Gazprom Rusvelo team confirmed that Dmitry Strahov has tested positive for coronavirus Covid-19 for the fifth time in the United Arab Emirates.

Strahov said he is in good health but remains hospitalized. He became the first athlete to be declared positive after the Tour of the United Arab Emirates was cut short and all athletes and race staff were housed in hotels during the testing period.

About 500 people were allowed to leave the UAE a few days later, and the Cofidis and Groupama-FDJ teams were released over the weekend. However, Gazprom, UAE Team Emirates, and UAE Tour staff remain quarantined at the W Abu Dhabi Yas Island Hotel.

Local authorities initially identified two coronavirus cases on the team, but later raised the number to six, two Russians, two Italians, one German, and one Colombian. Last week, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that there were 12 cases of infection linked to the UAE tour, with four players testing positive for the virus. According to the Italian consulate, all Italian players are healthy and not in serious condition.

The identities of the four players who tested positive for coronavirus are unknown. However, Fernando Gaviria is suspected to be one of them; only two Colombian players on the UAE tour, Hernando Bohorquez of Astana, were allowed to leave the country.

Igor Boev of Gazprom admitted to Russian media that he was hospitalized, but it is unclear whether he tested positive for coronavirus.

"After passing the fifth test at the hotel, I was told that I tested positive for coronavirus and need to go to the hospital," the 24-year-old Strakhov reportedly said in a team Instagram post.

"Indeed, I have not seen the results of the analysis. The hospital promised to run additional tests, do blood work and report the results soon. I am waiting. I feel fine and I have followed and will continue to follow all safety measures.

The Russian team confirmed that "three players from the Gazprom-Rusvelo team have been admitted for additional tests."

The UAE Team Emirates athletes decided to self-isolate when the infected first appeared, and there were unconfirmed reports that the first two infected athletes turned out to be UAE Team Emirates staff who had traveled to the race from northern Italy.

"Despite being given permission to return home and despite the last test being negative, the team decided to extend their stay in the UAE to continue testing everyone's condition and return home after confirming that they were not infected," the team announced on Sunday.

"In this global emergency, our main goal is the safety of all of us and our families. We have identified several cases of influenza infection within our group and other teams, so we will conduct another round of tests in the next few days and once the situation improves, the players and staff will return to their families."

No further word from the team. Diego Ulissi was unable to witness the birth of his daughter Anna on Tuesday because he was on tour in the UAE.

Players and staff have been posting messages on social media over the past few days, awaiting the end of quarantine. Tadei Pogachal wrote on his personal website: today, March 9, 2020, is the 11th day I have been confined to "my" hotel room. I share the room with my teammate Eric Bystrom, so it's not just me.

"There are training machines in the room, so I'm trying to work out a bit. Of course, there's also TV, Internet, Netflix, and Playstation, so at least I have something to do to pass the time.

"I just hope everything goes according to plan and I can go home next weekend. "

Jeroen Swart, head of the medical department of UAE Team Emirates, posted a photo of himself and other team staff wearing protective masks at W Abu Dhabi Yas Island on Tuesday. Quarantine is scheduled to end on the 14th.

UAE Team Emirates has already joined many other major teams that have decided to withdraw from all racing until late March.