ECB planning to install coronavirus checkpoints to resume cricketing activity

The England and Wales Cricket Board is planning to install coronavirus checkpoints and isolation units at grounds in its bid to resume international cricket without any spectator.

The ECB had suspended all professional cricket till May 28, delaying the start of the new season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed nearly 22,000 people globally.

However, ECB director of events Steve Elworthy said they are looking at ways to resume play inside closed doors and that it would need a sterile "bubble" to ensure the identification of anyone in the vicinity who was carrying the virus.

"We're mapping out what international matches would look like behind closed doors," Elworthy told the Guardian.

The UK government had banned mass gathering of more than 500 prior to current under lockdown to contain the virus.

Alluding to the initial government advice, Elworthy said: "The advice around mass gatherings was 500 people or fewer.

"That was guided by the potential impact on critical services like paramedics and doctors.

"You would likely have to work within that number (which would be made up of essential matchday staff)... then you have to think about medical provisions, creating a safe and sterile environment around that venue, so that everyone who comes in is clear.

"So it's how you test them at the gate, the isolation units that you have to put in. These are considerations we are thinking about."
"But if that is the situation we are faced with then we will deliver on absolutely every single one of those to make sure it does happen."