NSW to alter COVID-19 isolation rules to ensure the fourth Ashes Test goes ahead in Sydney.
Brad Hazzard, New South Wales (NSW) Minister for Health and Medical Research, has on Tuesday (December 28) said that the fourth test of the ongoing Ashes 2021-22 between Australia and England will go ahead as scheduled in Sydney on January 5, 2022.
After two members of England's support staff and two of their family members tested positive for COVID-19 in Melbourne this week, it put the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney in jeopardy considering New South Wales (NSW) close contact rules and the COVID-19 situation in the state.
Despite being in close contact, England's players and team management were allowed to travel to the MCG for the Boxing Day Test after rapid antigen tests came back negative. However, the subsequent PCR tests for the Australian and England teams were also negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
But the COVID-19 rules are different in NSW, as close contacts of Coronavirus cases must isolate until a negative test is returned, which means the Sydney Test would have been abandoned if there was any close contact with the infected people.
It is being said that the players will simply need to register a negative test to be able to continue playing rather than isolate for seven days in the fourth Test in Sydney.
However, the NSW Health Minister quashed concerns about abandoning the fourth Ashes Test and hinted that rules would be tweaked so the scheduled test could go ahead in Sydney, where ten thousand COVID-19 positive cases have been recorded over the past week.
Hazzard said in a statement on Tuesday: “The SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) Test is sacred, an important date at the start of the third year of our life with Covid-19.”
He added, “I want to assure the cricket-loving public, under our rules any players with exposure to a known case of Covid-19 would be asked to test and isolate only until a negative result was received.”
Hazzard concluded, “If there are any cases within the teams, their support staff, or families, we will work with the people involved to ensure they are safe, and there is as little disruption to others as possible.”
Notably, Australia retained the Ashes at the MCG after an innings victory and a 14-run victory against England in the third Test on Tuesday. The fourth Ashes Test will start on January 5 in Sydney, followed by the fifth and final Test in Hobart on January 14.
(With AFP Inputs)