PCB shut down headquarter office in Lahore after senior official tests COVID-19 positive

PCB shut down headquarter office in Lahore after senior official tests COVID-19 positive
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Pakistan Cricket Board

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to shut down their headquarters in Lahore after a senior official tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The PCB announced this measure to adopt a safety-first approach and asked its employees to work from home. 

This decision came out a few days after the postponement of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Recently, six cricketers and a support staff tested positive for the disease which forced the organisers to take this step for an indefinite period. Since then, the apex body has faced stringent criticism about its handling of the bio-secure bubble. The PCB also received backlash for its implementation for the teams at the hotel and stadium.

However, board chairman Ehsan Mani made it clear that the PCB office’s shut down has nothing to do with the postponement of the cash-rich league. 

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“The Lahore based players like Azhar Ali and Muhammad Abbas were all going home after the training but now the board has suspended the camp and will announce fresh dates with all players now to undergo fresh COVID tests as the board has also launched contact tracing of the official,” the PCB chairman, Ehsan Mani said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Blunders committed while enforcing protocols – Reports

PCB postponed Pakistan Super League

Some recent reports suggested that there were several major blunders committed while enforcing the bio-secure bubble during the PSL. It is suspected that there were no medical personnel to conduct the COVID-19 test immediately on Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed despite him reporting stomach pain and other discomforts.

Also, there are some cases where the medical personnel didn’t carry out proper contact tracing. Moreover, the PCB also didn’t suspend the matches for a few days and went ahead with the schedule after just a one-day suspension of the Islamabad United-Quetta Gladiators match.

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