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Six Pakistan cricket players have tested positive for COVID-19 while on tour in New Zealand.
The whole squad has been issued with a “final warning” by the New Zealand government for breaching rules while in isolation in Christchurch.
The six team members with coronavirus have been moved into quarantine and the side’s exemption to train during managed isolation has been put on hold pending investigations.
“While this is disappointing for the Pakistan squad, the testing outcomes and the actions taken show the government system is working,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said in a statement.
The squad arrived in the country on Tuesday for a tour scheduled to include two Tests and three T20 matches.
Before leaving Lahore, all members of the Pakistan touring squad had negative results on the four occasions they were tested, the governing body said.
Two of the six positive results were deemed “historical”, with the remaining four said to be new. None of the players were named.
In addition, the country’s health ministry said “several team members have been seen on CCTV at the facility breaching managed isolation rules, despite clear, consistent and detailed communication of expected behaviours while in the facility”.
As a result, “the team as a whole has been issued with a final warning”, it said.
All the breaches took place within the facility and there is no risk to the public, it added.
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Dr Ashley Bloomfield, director general of health, said any breaches of managed isolation rules were taken very seriously.
“It is a privilege to come to New Zealand to play sport, but in return teams must stick to the rules that are designed to keep COVID-19 out of our communities and keep our staff safe,” he said.
The West Indies cricket team were also banned earlier this month from training by the authorities in New Zealand after several players violated restrictions ahead of their tour of the country.
They too had been granted exemption from the stricter 14-day quarantine rules applying to members of the public.
However, security footage from the hotel showed some of the players sharing food and socialising outside of their social bubbles.
