Chiefs

A players undergoes a Covid-19 test. Photo: Kaizer Chiefs/Twitter

Chiefs medical team: Increased cases no surprise!

Kaizer Chiefs have provided comprehensive details about why they will not fulfil their fixture against Golden Arrows.

Chiefs

A players undergoes a Covid-19 test. Photo: Kaizer Chiefs/Twitter

Kaizer Chiefs were not able to honour last Saturday’s league fixture against Cape Town City after announcing that 31 of their employees recently tested positive for Covid-19, which forced the club to temporarily close their facility in Naturena.

READ | KAIZER CHIEFS VS CAPE TOWN CITY: GATES LOCKED AT FNB STADIUM

Chiefs were next scheduled to play Arrows at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban on Wednesday night, and the hosts had recently said they were preparing for the match to proceed.

However, it will not go ahead, with Chiefs confirming there had been another five positive cases in their camp.

Positive cases now stand at 36

In a statement, Chiefs intimated that there was really no option but to withdraw from Wednesday’s fixture.

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,” says Kaizer Chiefs Physician, Dr. Hashendra Ramjee. “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.”

READ | HOW KAIZER CHIEFS’ NO SHOW AGAINST CAPE TOWN CITY COULD AFFECT THE LOG!

The league is yet to officially comment on the matter, despite holding an urgent executive meeting about the matter.

In totality, Chiefs asked the PSL to postpone the matches against CT City, Golden Arrows, Sekhukhune United, Royal AM and Maritzburg United.

The Chiefs’ insistence that they had to prioritise player welfare over anything else comes as Cape Town City chairperson John Comitis had said earlier on Tuesday that he hopes “Kaizer Chiefs come to their senses” and found 11 players to take the field in their DStv Premiership fixture.

“Nobody’s happy about the situation. This isn’t what football’s about,” was Comitis’ reaction to how events unfolded when Chiefs couldn’t take to the field for last weekend’s encounter.

“But unfortunately we have a league that has rules and it has supplied the rules and issued a letter to Chiefs before the game saying their request for a postponement was not granted.

“It’s got to be business as usual, and we as City have to react accordingly. Subsequently I know the exco has attended to review Chiefs’ plight. Unfortunately I’m conflicted so I cannot be in that meeting tomorrow [on Wednesday].

“The only thing that concerns me is that tomorrow is another game. I hope Chiefs come to their senses and field a team no matter what.”

Further details from the Chiefs statement read as follows:

While Kaizer Chiefs awaits 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.

In a concerted effort to restore the Village to an environment safe enough to be re-opened 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.

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.