Sydney: Fans attending this week’s third Test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) will have to wear masks at all times. They can open their masks only when eating or drinking, New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard said Wednesday.
The five-day Test starts Thursday. It will be played in front of a crowd of some 10,000 to allow social distancing. Usually the SCG can accommodate 48,000 fans. However, the numbers have been reduced after an outbreak of COVID-19 in Australia’s largest city.
Hazzard said New South Wales had no option but to impose the measure. This came after health officials in the state of Victoria said a man who attended the second test might have contracted COVID-19 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). MCG officials in a tweet have confirmed the development. It has said that the man visited the ground on the second day of the Boxing Day Test. It has urged all spectators who sat close to the man to get themselves tested.
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“I want to stress that Victoria announcing a new case that they don’t yet know the source of at the MCG is obviously influencing our thinking about what we should be doing to keep New South Wales safe,” Hazzard told a news conference.
“You must wear a mask. From the moment effectively you get into the transport to get there, and get into the queue at the front door of the SCG, and go to your seat, and sit in your seat, you must wear a mask. The only exception to that is if you’re eating or drinking,” the minister added.
SCG had at one stage hoped to stage the Test in front of a full house. However, an outbreak of COVID-19 in the city led to reduction first to a half and then a quarter of the stadium’s capacity.
Mask-wearing in indoor public spaces was made mandatory here for the first time Sunday with fines of A$200 ($155) for anyone in breach of the directive.
“I know that’s a tough – it’s a tough ask, but it’s absolutely necessary to keep New South Wales residents safe,” Hazzard stated.
Fans from rural areas have been also banned from attending to avoid the risk of them taking the virus back to areas so far unaffected.
The Test series between the two cricketing superpowers is drawn 1-1 going into the third match. The fourth game is scheduled to take place from January 15 in Brisbane.