Collingwood players celebrate a goal against Port Adelaide in round 10, 2021. Picture: AFL Photos

The AFL is aware that a person who attended the Sunday May 23 match at the MCG between Collingwood and Port Adelaide has since tested positive to COVID-19.

All patrons who were sitting in Zone 4, Level 1 of the Great Southern Stand (the Punt Rd end of the stand) in-between bays M1 and M16 have been contacted overnight and asked to immediately get tested and isolate.

The AFL, in conjunction with all AFL venues nationally, have ensured each match has a COVIDSafe Event Plan that is endorsed by the relevant State Department of Health. Each plan has specific measures in place to reduce any potential risk, including the sectioning of grounds to limit patron movement and implementation of both ticketing data capture and QR code scans for efficient contact tracing purposes.

The AFL and the MCC have prepared for this situation in multiple simulations, with contact information linked to ticketing data and QR codes.

The announcement is a reminder why the AFL and various Governments worked to develop measures that prioritised the health and wellbeing of fans and allowed the speedy identification of all patrons attending each match in the event of a positive test.

The MCG has advised that extensive cleaning of the venue takes place after each match and, out of an abundance of caution, a deep clean of the identified zone is now being undertaken.

We remind all fans attending this week’s round of matches to ensure they scan the QR code in stadiums to further assist with the ongoing management of the pandemic.