India vs Australia: Fans attending 3rd Test at SCG will have to wear mask at all times - NSW Health Minister

India vs Australia: The announcement comes after a fan attending last month’s Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the MCG tested positive for COVID-19.

Wearing masks will be mandatory for spectators attending the third cricket Test between Australia and India starting at the SCG on Thursday, New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard said on Wednesday. Around 10,000 fans will be allowed to watch the Test even as COVID-19 cases grow in Sydney.

Sydney:India's Ajinkya Rahane, left, and head coach Ravi Shastri check the wicket before training at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, ahead of their cricket test against Australia starting Thursday.AP/PTI Photo(AP01_06_2021_000033A) (AP)

The announcement comes after a fan attending last month’s Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the MCG tested positive for COVID-19. “A COVID day for cricket, and that means mask on, not mask off unless you are actually eating or drinking,” Hazzard told 9News.

“We really love cricket but on this occasion we can’t afford to love it and also end up with COVID.” Wentworthville and Belmore have been added to the banned list of suburbs which cannot attend the SCG Test.

Hazzard said any person who has visited the suburbs Auburn, Belmore, Berala, Birrong, Lidcombe North, Potts Hill, Regents Park, Rookwood, Wentworthville will not be permitted to attend the Test.

According to a report in ‘The Telegraph’, the man was not infectious while at the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground on the second day of play “but there is potential he acquired the virus while there” or at a nearby shopping centre.