Moeen Ali, the right arm off-spinner from England has been tested positive for COVID-19 as the English team arrived in Sri Lanka on January 3. Ali has been placed under isolation for 10 days and will be monitored closely by the management from both sides.
England is scheduled to play against Sri Lanka in 2 tests and 3 ODI’s starting January 14. Ali who has been placed under isolation will most likely miss the first test as his mandatory isolation will finish on January 13, which can change if his test results come out negative.
Chris Woakes who was in close contact all the time has also been placed under precautionary isolation for 7 days. Before departure, the entire squad was tested in the UK and all the reports came out negative. The virus might have got him between the period of the tests conducted and leaving for Sri Lanka. He traveled with the England squad on the same flight as the rest of the players to Sri Lanka. All players except Moeen Ali will undergo another test on Wednesday as they had been exposed to the virus. If the results came out negative the team will be allowed to practice.
This is the first case of COVID-19 in the English squad for the past few months. They have been playing since September which was the peak period for COVID-19. Hence only one case coming out while having cricket is some achievement for England Cricket Board.
