Coronavirus cases force CWI to suspend cricket season

It was announced on Saturday that all CWI activities will be suspended for the next 30 days. This comes just days after Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Johnny Grave had disclosed fears that the coronavirus pandemic may affect the packed CWI schedule in the coming months.
“Cricket West Indies (CWI), acting on the recommendation of its Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), has taken the decision to suspend all CWI tournaments and face-to-face group meetings from Monday, March 16, for a minimum of 30 days,” the CWI correspondence detailed.
CWI Chief Medical Officer Dr. Israel Dowlat has said, “The health and safety of our players, officials and staff are of paramount importance to CWI, and we have advised the Board of Directors to take proactive policy steps to decrease the growing risk of contamination and spread of the virus”.
Chairman of the MAC, Dr Donovan Bennett, has said, “We are acting based on medical best practice as well as in an abundance of caution. The ongoing gathering of even small groups of spectators, cricketers and match officials could pose a risk to some persons of contracting the virus and being stranded in quarantine in a non-resident country for a prolonged period. Clearly, this pandemic is still evolving, and we will continue to monitor the situation throughout the Caribbean”.
As a direct result of the cricketing body’s decision, the final two rounds of the Professional Cricket League 4 Day Championship (26th to 29th March, and 2nd to 5th April); the Women’s Colonial Medical Insurance (CMI) Super 50 Cup in Guyana (27th March to 12th April); Regional Under-15 Boys Championship in Antigua (9th to 20th April), and the Regional Under-19 Girls Championship in Trinidad (6th to 12th April) have all been suspended.
In addition to these regional tournaments, several CWI meetings would also be postponed, with all urgent CWI Board matters to be addressed via teleconference. Those meetings will include the CWI Board of Directors’ meeting, scheduled for Antigua on April 17th & 18th, and the CWI Annual General Meeting scheduled for Antigua on April 19th.
CWI has also advised that all Territorial Boards and Local Cricket Associations should follow the advice of their respective Ministries of Health.