New variant hits sports just as they were nearing normality

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Golf, cricket and rugby became the first major sports to be affected by the new COVID-19 variant on Friday, prompting fears of renewed travel restrictions and disrupted events just as they were returning to normal nearly two years into the pandemic.

European golfers withdrew midway through the season-opening DP World Tour tournament in Johannesburg and were scrambling to catch flights out of South Africa. Visiting cricket and rugby teams were doing the same.

Golf was the first to be hit by the emergence of the new B.1.1.529 variant that was initially identified in South Africa and is causing concern over fears that it may be more transmissible than current variants and resistant to vaccines.

It has already been detected in Israel, Hong Kong and Belgium as well as several other countries in southern Africa.

While the start of the World Tour was ruined, rugby games in South Africa in a new European-South African tournament were postponed "due to the sudden developments," organizers said. A tour to South Africa by India's cricket team next month was likely to be reconsidered, although there was no official comment yet.

The Dutch cricket team, already in South Africa for a series, was considering whether to cancel its remaining games and return home early. The Royal Netherlands Cricket Federation said it was looking at options but was “unlikely” to be able to find flights at short notice.

"The physical and mental health of the players is the first priority,” the federation said.

Organizers of golf's Joburg Open, which started Thursday, said it would continue even after at least 23 mostly European players pulled out in the hours after South African health authorities announced they had detected the new variant. The tournament was later...