Risk posed by coronavirus low during ODI tour of India: CSA

Cricket South Africa is not overtly worried about their players travelling to India for the upcoming ODI series amidst coronavirus fears, saying the risk factor is "low" in Delhi, the first destination for the team.

The Proteas will reach India via Dubai. They will land in New Delhi on Monday and spend a day there before proceeding to compete in Dharamsala (March 12), Lucknow (March 15) and Kolkata (March 18).

"None of the playing venues have recorded positive cases and travel between these cities will be via chartered flights reducing the risk even further. The risks in Dubai and Delhi are considered low," the CSA said in a statement.

"While the risk remains low, precautionary measures are necessary because of the highly infectious nature of the disease. The team has been appraised of hygiene precautions, avoidance measures, and symptom recognition in addition to being provided with travel kits," it added.

The CSA said it has been liaising with the BCCI, the South African embassy in New Delhi, Indian security and risk experts. It said the Indian government "has also provided the necessary assurances".

"CSA is fully conscious of the risks presented in regard to the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and has engaged in a formal risk assessment process to ensure the health and safety of and duty of care to our players and staff.

"This risk assessment is informed by information provided by international experts, the US Centre for Disease Control, the World Health Organisation, the South African Department of Health and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases," the CSA said.

CSA Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shuaib Manjra will travel with the team.