ANTRIM hurlers are awaiting test results for the rest of their squad, and are hopeful that the number of designated close contacts will be low after a player tested positive for Covid-19.
Having won promotion to Division One at the weekend, the Saffrons are due to begin their Joe McDonagh Cup campaign at home to Westmeath on Saturday.
Their preparations have been thrown into disarray by the positive test, however, which was confirmed yesterday after the player began feeling symptomatic on Monday.
They cancelled training last night and the entire squad is due to be tested under the GAA’s rapid testing scheme, which should have results back by Thursday.
“It was tough on my mum and dad. I knew I was self-destructing. And I also knew the next phase of that, if I had carried on, it was not being here. I was in a very dark place...” - the life and times of Caolan Mooney
‘If you’re still in it when the Christmas tree is up then you’re not going too badly’ - Tommy Coleman’s minors striving for more Clann Eireann success
Antrim travelled to and from Tullamore in cars, with the squad broken into pods. The affected player is believed to have travelled with two others and masks were worn in the car.
The team stayed together in chalets the night before the game and the same pods were maintained. The team also had meals together during the trip.
Overnight stays and meals are permitted by the GAA under the regulations for inter-county games.
Anyone designated as a close contact will have to isolate for 14 days, regardless of whether they return a positive test or not and would automatically be ruled out of Antrim’s game this weekend.
In the unlikely event that they did not have sufficient numbers to play against Westmeath, the GAA appears to have set an early precedent that it will not postpone games.
