PCB worried by positive Covid-19 cases ahead of PSL 5 playoffs

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is worried after two positive Covid-19 cases emerged from the same franchise ahead of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season five playoffs.

Yesterday, an individual was shifted to an isolation room in the team hotel after he tested positive for Covid-19. As per the PCB Covid-19 protocols, the entire squad, to which the individual belonged, underwent Covid-19 tests and all members returned negative results. The individual will stay in isolation until he returns two negative results.

Out of the two positive cases, one is a team official, who had also broken Covid-19 protocols in the recent past. The other is a local cricketer, who has represented Pakistan in limited-overs cricket. He had returned home after the second round of the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on November 3. As per the PCB Covid-19 Protocols, the player should have traveled to Karachi only after receiving a negative result from the home test. However, upon arrival in Karachi, the PCB Medical and Sports Sciences received the positive result, following which he was quarantined immediately. The players is currently in isolation room, but can also be sent home.

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All the players from the four teams that have qualified for the playoffs are staying in a bio-secure zone in a hotel. As soon as the players and officials arrive in the hotel for the event, they have to go through two Covid-19 tests. After returning two negative tests and spending 48 hours in quarantine, they are allowed to move around in the bio-secure zone. Players are not allowed to use the swimming pool in the hotel, while their lunch and dinner is served to them in their room.

According to sources, although there are many lifts available in the hotel, players and team officials often have to use the same lift as other guests in the hotel, which increases their risk of contracting Covid-19. The board officials are concerned about this and have spoken with the hotel administration about it.