Cricket Australia (CA) on Friday (December 18) cleared a sudden cloud of uncertainty that was looming large over the New Year's Test against India after a fresh Coronavirus outbreak in Sydney.

The board said the Test is still very much on but it will continue to monitor the situation. 

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"Australian cricket officials were put on alert after the number of cases in the northern beaches outbreak in Sydney reached 28 on Friday", reported PTI. 

The marquee third Test for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is scheduled to be played at the SCG from January 7. 

Nick Hockley, CA's interim chief executive, told 'SEN' Radio, "There's been lots of discussion and meetings of our medical experts, but this is the reason why throughout the summer we've had our players in bubbles in the hub."

"We're monitoring the situation; we're not panicking at all, staying calm... ... it's really watch, wait and see and I think the governments around the country have handled the pandemic so well, so we'll watch, learn and stay in touch."

Specifically on whether the Test is in any doubt, Hockley said: "I don't think so - this is the very reason why we have the hubs in place."

"...whether it's the WBBL players, the BBL players, the BCCI, our own Australia squads, they have been absolutely fantastic in dealing with all the protocols. 

"Our medical experts have been working around the clock, we're in very good communication with health authorities around the country. It's one of the things we've had to navigate with getting cricket up safely."

The sudden outbreak has also had an impact on the broadcasters involved with the Test series. Former Australia pacemen Brett Lee is learnt to have decided to return home to northern Sydney. 

Two more broadcast team members based in Sydney returned home, while two have decided to work from the hotel. 

SEN commentary team's three members have left Adelaide, the venue for the ongoing first Test. 

"If the game can be played safely (in Sydney) then we'll play it there. That's our starting point, so it's working with the health authorities to ascertain that," Hockley said. 

"We started out thinking how to play the full series as safely as possible, and we'll take the same approach over the coming days and weeks."

"We've got contingency plans around a whole range of different options, and we've had to be agile all the way through. We were encouraged that it was 17 cases yesterday and ten today, and we'll see how that plays out over the next 72 hours."

Victoria's iconic MCG is scheduled to host the second Test from the Boxing Day (December 26), but the ground's chief Stuart Fox said they'll be ready to support CA in case required. 

"We hope that doesn't happen to Sydney. We know what it's like to lose a major event. For us, all focus is on the Boxing Day Test," he was quoted as saying by 'Sydney Morning Herald'. "We're here to support Cricket Australia if need be."

(Inputs from PTI)