24 February marks a historic day in Indian cricket, when India plays England in the Motera Cricket Stadium, the largest cricket stadium in the world. The stadium was inaugurated by the Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and the Home Minister of India Amit Shah, who also met the Indian squad before the Test match and congratulated Ishant Sharma on his 100th test match. However, was congratulating Ishant on his historic milestone a possible breach of bio-bubble?
What Is a Bio-Bubble?
A bio-bubble is a safe and secure environment, which isolates the sports persons, support staff, and match officials from the outside world in order to minimise the spread of COVID-19.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India sought to provide these ‘bio-bubbles’ in hotels, training sessions, matches, and transportation.
Breach of Bio-Bubble
A person can only enter a bio-bubble zone after quarantining oneself for a period of five days. The video shared by BCCI on Twitter shows clear contact between President Ram Nath Kovind, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Ishant Sharma indicting a clear breach of bio-bubble.
Moreover, pictures shared on Twitter reveal that several outsiders were permitted entry in ‘secure bio-bubble’ zones risking the safety of players of both teams, support staff, and match officials.
The bio-bubbles were introduced for a simple reason: To minimise the spread of COVID-19 infection. The health and safety of the players, officials, and support staff should be the first and foremost priority of the concerned authorities and Twitter did not hold back after witnessing the breach in the safety protocols.
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