Cricket South Africa Reports Seven Positive COVID-19 Cases

In yet another blow to South Africa’s hopes of resuming cricket soon, seven people at Cricket South Africa (CSA) have tested positive for novel coronavirus. The South African cricket board announced the news on Monday. CSA had conducted mass testing of over 100 employees throughout the country which included affiliate staff and some of the contracted professional players.

The personnel tested also included the franchise training squads that had been assembled after the government announced that non-contact sport could resume in Level 3 of the nationwide lockdown.

“We were definitely going to have people testing positive. Having conducted over 100 tests, seven is actually quite low,” CSA’s acting CEO Jacques Faul was quoted as saying by ‘Sport24’.

However, Faul did not reveal if the people who have tested positive had any South Africa player among them. He made it clear that the protocol does not allow him to reveal the names.

“Our medical ethical protocol does not allow us to share info about people that have tested positive,” Faul said.

Recently, CSA had to postpone the 3TC tournament after reportedly failing to get the green light from the government. The board had already announced the three teams and the date for the exhibition match before stating on Sunday that they need more time to prepare for the clash. The game was scheduled to take place on June 27.

Meanwhile, a number of cricketers have been tested positive for the coronavirus. Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza and former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi are some of the big names who were tested positive. In South Africa, Solo Nqweni, a first-Class cricketer who has been battling Guillan-Barre Syndrome since a year besides other health issues, had tested positive for the novel coronavirus too.

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