While a couple of bilateral series and leagues have gone underway amid the COVID 19 pandemic, IPL is probably the biggest tournament which is about to start in these unusual circumstances and given the fact that more than 150 players are going to be involved in the tournament, people have been wondering what if even one player tests positive in the middle of the IPL. Will it lead to the cancellation of the IPL altogether?
The answer is “No”. The positive result of one or two players won’t result in the cancellation of the IPL, but whoever tests positive will have to follow a very strict protocol before he can enter the bio-bubble created for his team again.
Protocol after a player tests positive in the middle of IPL 2020
After a player tests positive, he will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine period of 14 days. If he is asymptomatic or has mild symptoms, he can be quarantined in a hotel room outside the bio-bubble of the team, but if he is symptomatic, he will have to be admitted in a hospital.
After the 14-day quarantine period, the player will have to return two negative tests with the two tests being done at a gap of at least 24 hours. After the two negative tests, the player will then have to go through a cardiac screening to make sure that the infection hasn’t affected the heart of the player in any adverse way.
Once the cardiac screening is normal after the two negative tests, the player will then be allowed to enter the bio-bubble of his team again.
The authorities will also carry out contact tracing once a player is tested positive. The whole squad of that particular franchise will be tested anyway, but the authorities will try and find out if the player shook hands with the players or the coaching staff of any other team in the recent past. If Yes, then the players of the other teams will be tested as well and only those with the negative results will be allowed out for training and games.
Also, just as a player tests positive, he goes outside the bio-bubble and will have no contact with the support staff of his franchise. The IPL medical manager will then take over from there and will coordinate with the doctors and the hospitals to make sure that the player gets the best treatment possible till the time he is infected.
