Following the success of the Povetkin v Whyte 2 event Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar urges those who were present to attend the Drive Thru on Tuesday 6th April to undergo a Covid-19 test.  The results obtained will be crucial in informing decisions on the continued unlocking process in the community.

The Minister for Sport, the Hon Steven Linares is very pleased at how the event transpired: “Firstly, I would like to congratulate all boxers and in particular Dillian Whyte for his excellent performance.  I think we can all agree that this first pilot event with spectators run like clockwork and I would like to publicly thank Matchroom Boxing, the members of the Safety Advisory Group, all the many local companies and individuals involved and the members of my staff who played a major part in the event’s success. Not least, I would like to express my gratitude to those that attended for their excellent behaviour throughout the evening. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to ask those who were present to continue cooperating with us and get tested on the 6th April at the Drive Thru. Ticket holders will be contacted and provided with an appointment should they wish to help the Director of Public Health collate crucial data. Both boxers from the main event have very kindly signed a pair of gloves that will be raffled between all those who attend this test on the 6th April with a winner drawn the day after. Aside from having the opportunity to win a historic bit of memorabilia you will more importantly be helping to provide valuable data that will help shape the continued relaxation of restrictions.”

The Director of Public Health Dr Sohail Bhatti is also very keen for those that attended the boxing on Saturday and those who supported the Gibraltar national football team at the Victoria Stadium last night to also get tested on day 10. Additionally, following Public Health advice, only those over the age of 18 were able to attend the Gibraltar vs Netherlands football match yesterday.

“The Gibraltarians have been a credit to themselves with their exemplary behaviour before and during the pandemic. Now that we are leaving behind one of the darkest periods in Gibraltar’s recent history, I once again urge them to work with the Department of Public Health to be able to collate valuable data. Both Saturday’s event and Tuesday’s football match are some of the first public sporting events anywhere in the world where all those in attendance have had two doses of the vaccine and have returned a negative COVID-19 test on the day of the event. We are once again pioneers and the tests on day 10 for both events are crucial in providing the information required to plan the next steps to take towards a return to normality. Those attending the FIFA World Cup Qualifier will be called to attend a test on Friday 9th April. It is my understanding that as with the Boxing event, the GFA will also be raffling an item for those who attend the test, specifically a Netherlands shirt signed by all the players. As with the boxing gloves, it is a nice keepsake whilst helping the wider community.”