The Board of Control for Cricket in India has inked a deal to conduct over 20,000 COVID-19 tests before and during the Indian Premier League in the UAE.
The UAE-based multi-hospital and medical services chain VPS Healthcare has got the mandate for conducting the COVID-19 tests during the IPL 2020.
The testing procedure that has started with the arrival of the teams will continue through to the teams’ departure from the UAE.
The 60 IPL games will be played across Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi from September 19 to November 10.
The healthcare group has got the mandate to test the players and support staff of all the eight teams throughout their stay in the UAE for the IPL 2020.
VPS Healthcare has been designated as the official COVID-19 testing partner for the IPL 2020, states a report by Khaleej Times.
As reported by SportzFront earlier, the healthcare group is also providing the COVID-19 solution for the bio-secure bubble for the IPL contingent.
Safeer Ahamad, CEO of VPS Healthcare’s LLH, Lifecare, and Medeor Hospitals, said extensive arrangements have been made to facilitate the bio-secure environment.
“Our responsibility is to facilitate the bio-bubble by providing Covid-19 solutions for the tournament. As part of this, we will be conducting massive Covid-19 tests for the entire IPL fraternity, including players, supporting staff of the franchisees, BCCI officials and other IPL stakeholders during the entire period of the tournament,” Ahamad said.
“We have assigned a team each for three emirates comprising our highly and extensively experienced Covid-19 frontline warriors who were at the forefront at the peak of the pandemic.”
BCCI is also engaged in talks with the VPS Healthcare for providing other medical services for the tournament. If the deal comes through, the healthcare group will be providing allied medical support services, including hospitalisation and treatment in case of emergencies.