Cleared of Covid, five SA team members leave Bangladesh

Five members of the South Africa Women's Emerging team boarded a flight back home from Dhaka on Tuesday evening after returning negative tests in their second round of Covid-19 tests conducted in the capital today.    

These five members -- four cricketers and the manager -- had tested positive when all members of the South Africa contingent took Covid tests at the MAG Osmani Medical College in Sylhet on Monday. 

The South African team were on a tour to Bangladesh for a five-match One Day series, all scheduled to be played at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. However, the tour was shortened with the fifth and final one-dayer cancelled due to the rapid surge of coronavirus cases in the country and the nationwide strict lockdown from Wednesday. Bangladesh won all four matches played in the series.  

The five individuals, who tested positive in the first round of Covid tests, stayed back and were put in isolation at a hotel in Dhaka for recovery as the rest of the team departed for South Africa on Monday.

However, the second round of Covid test conducted today in Dhaka revealed the tourists were negative. 

"The test results from Osmani Medical College [Monday] were wrong, it showed false positive. The five cricketers underwent tests in Dhaka today [Tuesday] and all of them have tested negative. They are taking a flight back home at 6pm today [Tuesday]," said the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) women's wing chairman Shafiul Alam Nadel to the media on Tuesday. 

The four players who tested positive in the first round of Covid tests are: Sinalo Jafta, Leah Jones, Nobulumko Baneti, Robyn Searle. Team manager Marsia Letsoalo also tested positive.