Cricket row shows Covid is out there
If players in a supposedly tightly controlled environment can contract it, then the rest of us need to be doubly careful where we go and to remember to wear face masks as well as sanitise.
An empty stadium after the first ODI between SA and England was called off on Sunday. Picture: Gallo Images
In a year of strange happenings, the dispute between cricket authorities in South Africa and the visiting English team is still odd. The mystery is: who pricked the supposedly safe “bio bubble” and let in the coronavirus?
The South Africans claim the English violated safety protocols at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town by using practice nets outside the safe area. The English claim they had to, because the net facilities they were provided were sub-standard.
English and SA players have tested positive for Covid-19, forcing the cancellation of the first two one-day international matches and the entire series has been threatened.
Apart from the accusations flying back and forth – understandable given the amount of money at stake – the incidents at Newlands, if they do nothing else, emphasise that Covid-19 is out there and that it respects no level of fitness or sports achievement.
If players in a supposedly tightly controlled environment can contract it, then the rest of us need to be doubly careful where we go and to remember to wear face masks as well as sanitise.
Also, when this happens, the light at the end of the Covid tunnel – when we get back to normal at last – grows dimmer.
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