Kaizer Chiefs physician Dr Hashendra Ramjee has announced that they’re unable to honour their DStv Premiership fixture against Golden Arrows after a further five individuals tested positive for Covid-19.
This past Friday, Amakhosi were hit with a Covid-19 outbreak when 31 players and staff members tested positive, forcing them to abandon their DStv Premiership encounter with Cape Town City over the weekend.
The Soweto giants have since confirmed there are a further five cases at Naturena and as a result they will be unable to honour their league encounter with Lamontville Golden Arrows scheduled for Wednesday, 8 December at Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban.
Speaking to Amakhosi’s official website, club physician Ramjee opened up on the outbreak while also confirming they will not be travelling to KwaZulu-Natal for their next fixture.
“While Kaizer Chiefs await the Premier Soccer League’s decision on the club’s request to have the remainder of their matches scheduled for December postponed, the playing squad has cautiously resumed return-to-play protocols today [Wednesday].
“In a concerted effort to restore the [Kaizer Chiefs] Village to an environment safe enough to be reopened as soon as reasonably possible, the club performed more Covid-19 tests on the available senior and junior teams’ players, members of the technical team and support staff on Monday morning. Sadly, the test results revealed that the outbreak of Covid-19 that initially motivated Kaizer Chiefs to put in a request for postponement of matches had spread further within the camp – with five more people testing positive for the virus, bringing the number of reported cases in the last few days with the club to 36.
“The increase in positive cases does not come as a huge surprise to the Chiefs medical team given the high number of infections already detected within the club, a situation that led to the immediate suspension of activities at the Village for several days, in accordance with the NICD and Department of Health protocol.
“This shows us why it was important for the team to temporarily avoid playing or interacting with others as this could potentially cause the virus to spread beyond the club – which is an undesirable situation for all involved,” Ramjee said. “It is our responsibility to try to contain the outbreak as much as we can and save lives as players and staff have to go back to their families on a daily basis.
“On a more positive note, some staff will be emerging from isolation and returning to work in the coming days. However, players who have completed their isolation will need to undergo special return-to-play protocols to get them back to match fitness. The medical team and the coaches will monitor the situation very closely to try and mitigate risk.
“Kaizer Chiefs doctors continue to keep a close eye on the situation and have imposed strict protocols in the hope of alleviating the crisis in the coming week, as more people are expected to come out of isolation.
“In conclusion, we value the lives of our players, staff, their families, supporters and the country at large. We continue to operate in a safe environment that will not knowingly endanger people’s lives. It must be noted that Kaizer Chiefs has never in the past and will never play with positive Covid cases. We will also not endanger the lives of citizens of this country by engaging in air travel from a province with the highest number of infections to another. We call on responsible behaviour and the need to act as leaders as we deal with this pandemic and these extraordinary circumstances.”
