Karachi: Senior Pakistan all-rounder Muhammad Hafeez was on Wednesday placed in isolation after he breached the bio-secure bubble, created by the England Cricket Board for the ongoing series between the two teams.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the team management decided to isolate him until he returns a negative COVID-19 test.

The Board said that Hafeez went to a golf course, which is adjacent to the team hotel and part of the bio-secure bubble. He was photographed with a member of the public and posted the picture on his social media account.

"It was evident from the photograph that Hafeez had breached the two-metre social distancing protocol and following a consultation process with the team doctor, the team management has decided to isolate him until he returns a negative Covid-19 test," PCB said in its statement.

"The decision to put Hafeez in isolation has been taken for his and the safety and security of everyone around him. The team management believes it was an inadvertent mistake, but a good reminder for everyone on the importance of following the bio-secure protocols, which have been designed for the health and safety of everyone."

PCB confirmed that Hafeez had undergone a Covid-19 test late Wednesday afternoon and the result is expected on Thursday.

It said the team management had updated the England Cricket Board of its decision.

Hafeez was among players who had tested positive before travelling to England. He then created an embarrassing situation for the PCB when he privately got himself tested and the result was negative which he posted on his twitter account.

He returned two more negative tests before being permitted to travel to the UK.

The ECB is taking any breach of the biosecurity protocol very seriously. Fast bowler Jofra Archer was dropped for the second Test against West Indies after he also breached the biosecurity bubble by going to his apartment in Brighton.

Hafeez, a veteran allrounder has in the past also got himself into trouble with his statements on Pakistan cricket and selection matters.

 

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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.