It wasn’t all unexpected. The series is being played in a managed environment rather than a bio-bubble, which means that players are not limited to their hotel rooms and are allowed to go out – with the advice being that they should stick to open-air restaurants and the outdoors – as well as mingle with other people.
“This is an unfortunate situation, but not unexpected after the decision was made to have this tour under the Managed Event Environment (MEE) protocol, rather than the strict Bio-safe Environment (BSE) Protocol as was previously the case,” Dr Shuaib Manjra, CSA’s chief medical officer said. “This is in line with the country’s policy in revoking the Disaster Management Act with reference to the pandemic, as well the huge mental strain that a bubble environment induces.”
South Africa is no longer under any form of lockdown, with all restrictions apart from mask-wearing in indoor spaces and limitations on the number of people at gatherings, lifted.