The Newcastle Knights have confirmed that they are stopping all football operations until the new year, after a COVID-19 outbreak in the Hunter.
After developmental player Chris Vea’ila tested positive to the virus, the Knights initially said in a statement on Wednesday that other players and essential staff would return to training, but have now reversed course.
“This was not an easy decision or one we made without a huge amount of discussion, but it was the right call to make,” football manager Danny Buderus said.
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“With the current situation here in Newcastle, it was simply far too risky to continue training and we felt this was the appropriate action to take.”
The city is in the midst of a serious battle with the virus, with almost half of the 1472 infections recorded in the past 24 hours taking place in the state’s Hunter region.
This included a $10,000 fine for a 20-year-old man, who allegedly breached self-isolation orders and travelled to Newcastle despite being informed he was a close contact of a person with COVID-19.
“We made the hard call to remove our football operations from our training base and take an early Christmas shut down,” Buderus said.
“Our players will be asked to apply good common sense to both their own health and individual training requirements during this period.”
The Knights said they will work with the appropriate bodies to determine the best possible time to return to pre-season training.
Both Newcastle Jets’ A-League Men’s and Women’s teams have been affected as well, with the status of their fixtures this weekend yet to be confirmed. Members of both squads have tested positive.
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