14-DAY QUARANTINE FOR EXPATRIATES

MBABANE – Teams which have allowed foreign players time to visit their countries must be prepared to wait 14 days before they can rejoin the rest of the teams upon return.

The players, including expatriate officials who have visited their home countries after they were given time to do so by their respective teams, must observe the 14-day quarantine before joining their teams.

The two-week isolation requirement is among the newly enacted 2020 COVID-19 regulations put in place by the government in the fight to combat the spread of the virus which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global pandemic.

Islation

Part II of the regulations on countering coronavirus under isolation for asymptomatic person, Section 8 of the legislation compels the isolation of persons from countries where the COVID-19 has been reported.

Section 8 reads: “A person with a history of travel to a country or area from where COVID-19 has been reported or is a contact person in the last fourteen (14) days, who does not have symptoms of cough, fever, difficulty in breathing, shall be under isolation or quarantine at home and take precautions as stipulated in the Second Schedule and shall avoid contact with any person including family members for fourteen (14) days from the date of arrival from such area.”

Drawn for comment, the Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi confirmed that the expatriate players and officials, who were allowed to visit their respective countries, will have to be quarantined for 14-days before reuniting with their teams as per the 2020 COVID-19 regulations.
“Yes, they should be quarantined, how are they even travelling as there are no flights,” enquired Nkosi.

The legislature then wanted clarity if the players and officials were from the region and travelled through the road to visit their families.
She was made to understand that a majority of the players and officials who were allowed time to visit their native countries were from the SADC region.

Expected

Nkosi also sought clarity on when these players and officials left the country and were expected back to the kingdom, and she was further informed that it was after the country decided to put on hold all sporting activities including football, and the players as well as the officials were in constant communication with their teams so they were expected to return when the COVID-19 situation was under control for soccer games to resume.

Meanwhile, expatriate players who were allowed to go home include Mbabane Swallows’ South African players in Vusumuzi Zungu and Siphamandla Dhlamini, head coach in Zambia’s Honour Janza and Mbabane Highlanders’ Kenneth Loloto among others.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: