Cricketer Nqweni tests positive for Covid-19
Eastern Province cricketer Solomzi Nqweni has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The 26-year-old fastbowling allrounder‚ who is recovering from Guillain-Barre syndrome‚ announced on Twitter that he is a Covid-19 statistic.
“So last year I got GBS‚ and have been battling this disease for the past 10 months and I’m only half way through my recovery,” he said.
“I got TB‚ my liver failed and my kidney failed.
“Now today I tested positive for coronavirus.
“I don’t understand why all of this is happening to me.”
Nqweni‚ who was Quinton de Kock’s teammate at the 2012 U19 World Cup in Australia‚ has been battling illhealth for a while.
While on a club cricket stint in the UK with Aberdeenshire last year‚ he came down with the Guillain-Barre syndrome after experiencing flu-like symptoms that would not go away.
He was taken to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where he spent significant time in the intensive care unit.
According to ESPNcricinfo‚ a fundraising effort spearheaded by his agent Rob Humphries allowed for Nqweni to return home by air ambulance as his condition at the time meant he needed around-the-clock medical attention.
Guillain-Barre syndrome is a rare but serious auto-immune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the body’s nervous system.
ESPNcricinfo reported that he had spent four weeks in an induced coma and five months in ICU before returning home earlier this year.
Nqweni‚ who is from Port Elizabeth‚ played the bulk of his formative cricket in the Eastern Province region.
He came through Grey High School in Port Elizabeth and has represented Eastern Province and the Warriors.
He last represented Eastern Province last year before taking up his overseas club stint.