England players and staff who travelled back from South Africa on 10 December have been exempted from quarantine. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said on Wednesday that anyone who had journeyed from South Africa in the past two weeks would have to immediately quarantine amid the discovery of a new strain of coronavirus linked to the country. But the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement: “The team members and support staff who returned on 10 December from South Africa, as part of England men’s white-ball tour, have been following the Elite Sports International guidance concerning activity in the UK. During this period, they have undergone ongoing symptom and testing checks and will not need to quarantine.” The ECB added that preparations will continue for next month’s Test tour of Sri Lanka. The statement added: “Regarding the England men’s Test squad and support staff, they will continue to prepare as normal ahead of the Sri Lanka Test tour. The touring party is due to leave on 2 January 2021. The ECB will continue to monitor the ongoing situation in respect of international travel and working closely with Sri Lanka Cricket.” England still plan to set off for Hambantota on 2 January. While the Sri Lanka government has suspended commercial flights arriving into the country from the UK, England are travelling on a privately chartered plane and are therefore not subject to the ban. Upon arrival in Sri Lanka, England will go through a quarantine period at Hambantota, although they will be able to train outside before heading for Galle, where the two-Test series will be held, starting on 14 January. Players and staff travelling to Sri Lanka have been made aware of their responsibilities over the festive period, but it is understood no directives have been issued about seeing family on Christmas Day for those in the tier 1, 2 or 3 regions. The Sri Lanka-England series, which is part of the World Test Championship, was supposed to take place in March this year but was abandoned midway through the tourists’ warm-up game in Colombo amid the escalating situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.