Six members of the Pakistan cricket team on a tour of New Zealand have tested positive for COVID-19, the country’s cricket board said on Thursday, throwing preparations for the five-match series into turmoil and causing a scare in a country that has largely eradicated the virus.
The squad’s “exemption to train while in managed isolation has been put on hold until investigations have been completed”, the governing body said, adding that the six positive players would be moved into quarantine.
New Zealand’s ministry of health said 53 team members passed a symptom check before leaving Lahore and were tested on arrival in Christchurch on November 24. Six of those results have come back positive, although two of the six cases are believed to be “historical”.
New Zealand’s health ministry said the players will now “be tested a minimum of four times while in managed isolation” and the entire squad would be confined to their rooms.
The ministry also revealed that “several team members have been seen on CCTV at the facility breaching managed isolation rules, despite clear, consistent and detailed communication of expected behaviours”.
