All-rounder Axar Patel tests positive for COVID-19 one week before Delhi's first match

Things are getting worrisome in Mumbai, as India's all-rounder Axar Patel has been tested positive for Coronavirus. With less than a week to go when the IPL 2021 begins, reports of 8 groundsmen at Wankhede stadium have already jolted the IPL officials. Now, news agency ANI has reported that Axar Patel who plays for Delhi in the IPL has been tested positive for Coronavirus.

ANI quoted a source who confirmed this and said that unfortunately, Axar has been tested positive. He is isolating and all protocols are being followed. Axar is the second cricketer who has been tested positive, before him Kolkata's middle-order batsman Nitish Rana was tested positive for COVID-19. However, Rana was tested negative for coronavirus after returning a positive result on March 22. Having undergone self-isolation after the positive result, he underwent a COVID-19 test on Thursday and tested negative.

It is to be noted that before Axar, 8 groundsmen of the Wankhede stadium were also tested positive for the coronavirus. Delhi will be starting off its campaign against MS Dhoni-led side Chennai in Mumbai on April 10. 

10 days isolation for COVID-19 positive cricketers

As per the BCCI SOP, a player who tests positive for COVID-19 must isolate in the designated area outside the bio-secure environment for a minimum of 10 days from the first day of symptoms or the date of collection of the sample which resulted in a positive RT-PCR report, whichever is earlier. "During the 10-day isolation, the individual must rest and avoid any exercises. The team doctor should regularly monitor the case. If symptoms worsen during the course of isolation, the individual must be hospitalised immediately," the SOP states.

Four franchises- Delhi, Chennai, Rajasthan, and Punjab have set up their base in Mumbai as of now.  Maharashtra reported 47,827 new COVID-19 cases and 202 deaths on Friday with Mumbai registering the highest-ever single day spike of 8,832 new cases. It was the second day in a row that Mumbai recorded more than 8,500 cases. Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on April 2 hinted that the state government might impose stricter curbs in a couple of days to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Elaborating on the current COVID-19 situation grappling the state, he warned that there could be a shortage of healthcare infrastructure in the next 15-20 days if the number of cases keeps on increasing.

(With Inputs: ANI)

(Image Credits: ANI/Unsplash/Representative Image)