England’s first ODI against South Africa in Paarl has been abandoned after two members of staff at the hotel in which both teams are staying tested positive for Covid-19.
The first match of the series was set to take place in Cape Town on Friday but was postponed after a member of the Proteas squad tested positive for coronavirus.
Cricket South Africa and the England and Wales Cricket Board agreed to resume the series on Sunday after South Africa returned a full round of negative tests on Friday evening but the opening fixture of the three-match series has now been shelved again.
The ECB released a statement on Sunday morning saying the game had been delayed as it waited for “ratification” of tests carried out on the England squad on Saturday evening following the positive tests recorded by staff at The Vineyard Hotel.
The ODI was then abandoned around 30 minutes before the scheduled start at 8am UK time.
There has been no update yet regarding the games due to be played in Cape Town on Monday and Wednesday.
Today's ODI has been abandoned but we are still awaiting news on what that means for the rest of the tour.@nassercricket says the players wellbeing is paramount for both the ECB and CSA.
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Sky Sports Cricket’s Michael Atherton said: “Clearly there has been another breach within the bubble of the hotel, where both sets of players are staying.
“When we listened to South Africa’s chief medical officer the other day, there was a great deal of bafflement at why that South African player had tested positive. Now two hotel staff have tested positive.
“Our understanding is that the hotel staff stay on-site so clearly there is Covid going around in the hotel, so it is worrying.
“The rest of the series may go ahead but it will have ramifications in terms of the security of the bubbles players rightly demand.
❌MATCH ABANDONED❌
The first one-day international between South Africa and England at Paarl has been called off after two members of staff at the England hotel tested positive for COVID-19.
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“If you are staying on site with another team you want to know you are staying safely and securely so it will inform what South Africa do going forward.”
Roy Davies, general manager of the Vineyard Hotel, issued a statement revealing the members of staff had tested positive on Friday and had since been isolating.
“The Vineyard Hotel can confirm that two staff members tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, December 4 following the positive test of a South African player on Thursday, December 3,” he said.
“At this stage, it is not clear how the staff members became infected as neither have left the bio-secure area since November 16 and they do not work on the same team or in the same area. Our Covid response team is endeavouring to establish all the facts and contact tracing is underway.
“Our number one priority is the safety and wellbeing of our staff and guests and we have placed all our resources and efforts into investigating and resolving the situation.
“Both members of staff and a player who also tested positive on Friday are currently isolated in on-site apartments some distance from the hotel which have been kept sterilised and available for this purpose.”
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