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3 DARTS PLAYERS COVID-19+

23/08/2021 08:38:00 BY SANELE JELE

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LOZITHA – The effects of the third wave are hitting hard on the competitive sport.

This follows that three players had to miss an ESRIC Darts League match as they had tested positive for COVID-19. In football, Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Chairman Mark Carmichael and COO Pat Vilakati recently revealed how they had to be in isolation until they recovered. According to the Ministry of Health, COVID-19 statistics released on Saturday, stated that there were 9 984 active cases. This is after 753 new cases were confirmed. There have been 40 283 confirmed cases since March 2020 and out of those 29 308 have recovered while 991 total deaths have been reported.

suffer

The COVID-19 positive cases were revealed by Kilowatts A Captain Sifiso Simelane after seeing his team suffer a 18-6 loss to defending champions Malkerns. He, however, declined to disclose the three names of the players in question. The players are known to this publication but their names cannot be revealed due to ethical reasons. Kilowatts also lost to Eco Water 4-19.The league games were played at Lozitha High School Hall on Saturday. Before the league clash, Kilowatts A were placed third with 12 points. After the game they moved one place. This is after Eco Water recorded back to back victories and are now second with 18 points tied with Malkerns. Umlilo are now third with 12 points after they had to roll against Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS).

Kilowatts A have been in the past three seasons competing for honours. However, their campaign in the Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation (ESRIC) E120 000 sponsored league seemed challenged this season. Three of Kilowatts’ players have contracted the virus and they were forced to play with a skeleton team this past weekend. “We had a bright start in the league campaign but we were dealt a big blow ahead of this weekend’s games as three of our players tested positive for COVID-19. We were forced to play with a reserve team and thus we lost both games,” Simelane said.

recovery

He further said he wished them a speedy recovery. “Let’s be all safe and observe all COVID-19 regulations because this virus kills,” he said. The league PRO Flag Nxumalo also confirmed that Kilowatts A reported that some of their players had tested positive for COVID-19. “As organisers of the league we appeal to all teams to take all precautions because this virus is deadly. We encourage teams to test in their respective workplaces. If funds permitted, we could have tested all the teams before the start of the season,” Nxumalo said.

sanitised

He said at the moment they ensured that they checked body temperatures and also sanitised all the players. He also said players wore masks even during the game. Asked to share overall comments of how the games went this past weekend, he said; “The games went well except for those COVID-19 related cases from Kilowatts A. They did not play well because some of their players were not present. Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) could not attend games as they also reported that they also suspected one of their players had symptoms of COVID-19,” he said. He appealed to teams to report in time so that they know if they should fixture them. “We did tell teams to at least report before Thursday. We also appeal to teams not to use COVID-19 as an excuse not to attend games,” he said. As things stand, Malkerns maintain the pole position after beating Kilowatts A. They are now on top with 18 points. Strong league contenders Kilowatts A and REPS giving Malkerns the edge with Eco Water and Umlilo rising to the occasion.