Pakistani cricket team's isolation behaviour has 'significantly improved': New Zealand govt

Pakistani cricket team’s conduct at their bio-secure facility in Christchurch had “significantly improved,” the New Zealand Ministry of Health said on Friday, just 24 hours after the visitors had been warned of a violation of the Covid-19 protocols.

The Ministry reported on Thursday that six of the 53 members of the Visiting Party had tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon arrival, although there was also evidence of infringements of the bio-security laws Pakistani.

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“Since the team has issued a warning, compliance with the MIQ (Managed Isolation and Quarantine) rules in the facility has significantly improved,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“I would like to thank the team members for their help with the case investigations after the confirmation of promising cases within the team. “Cooperation and compliance are crucial to ensuring that New Zealand is kept safe from Covid-19.”

The positive findings came from tests conducted on the team’s entry to New Zealand, where both arrivals had to endure 14 days of isolation.

The Ministry added that the squad had undergone a second series of Covid-19 checks on Friday.

The squad was allowed an exemption to practise together in small bubbles’ following the second round of training, but it was temporarily cancelled after the promising findings.

Health authorities were also interviewing the team. Anyone found to have been in direct touch with the six positive would not be eligible to practise.

News of the promising tests and constraints on the squad provoked an angry response from former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who said New Zealand authorities had treated them like club teams.