2 Covid-19 positive Pakistan players no longer infectious: New Zealand official

Two of the six initial Covid-19 positive cases in Pakistan squad are now not considered infectious after serology tests, said New Zealand health authorities on Sunday.

“Following serology (blood) testing, two of the original six positive cases are now considered to be historic cases and are therefore not infectious,” said a spokesperson of New Zealand health ministry.

Six members of the squad had tested positive on the first day of the team's arrival while a seventh member tested positive later.

It is, however, not clear whether or not the two deemed not infectious are also considered “recovered”, and allowed to rejoin the rest of the squad members outside of the quarantine.

The NZ health official further said that all 53 members of the squad in Christchurch have also had serology tests, in addition to the routine PCR testing for the virus.

“As a result, a further 11 people (in addition to the two mentioned above) returned positive serology, indicating previous ‘historic’ infections,” the official added.

It is worth mentioning that Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hasnain, Wahab Riaz and masseur Malang Ali had tested positive in July ahead of Pakistan team’s departure to the UK.

However, Zaman, Bhatti and Imran are not part of the current touring party in New Zealand.

No identities were disclosed by the New Zealand health authorities of the 11 players it traced as having historical infections.

Pakistan cricket team's exemption to train during isolation period is currently on hold and a decision is likely to be made in next two days.

The squad will undergo their third PCR testing on Monday and it is expected that a decision to allow for training will be made after that.

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