Cape Town, Dec 9 (IANS): The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief medical officer Nick Peirce has confirmed that the two members of the England touring party in South Africa, who returned 'unconfirmed positive tests' for Covid-19 earlier, have since tested negative.

England had to pull out of the ODI leg of their tour of South Africa, following those 'unconfirmed positive tests'. They will now depart on Thursday without playing any further cricket.

"Following the independent ratification of the two unconfirmed positive Covid-19 tests from the England camp in South Africa, the England and Wales Cricket Board can confirm that, following further testing and analysis, in the opinion of the independent virologists based in Cape Town and London, the two individuals are not infected, and do not pose any risk of passing on the infection to the rest of the party," said a statement from the ECB.

"As such, the advice is they are now free to join the rest of the group and are no longer self-isolating," it added.

England had announced their two 'unconfirmed positives' on Sunday but further analysis showed that the individuals were not infected and no longer required to self-isolate.

Cricket South Africa's chief medical officer Shuaib Manjra was quoted as saying in the South African media, "I think the real risks are extremely low, but perceived risk is something that I can't control."