Having announced that all members of the Indian camp had returned negative results, the ECB has confirmed that the fifth Test has been cancelled
Update: Fifth Test called off in Manchester
UPDATE: This story has been updated since confirmation that the fifth Test has been cancelled.
The fifth Test between England and India in Manchester has been cancelled just hours before it was due to begin.
A statement released by the England Cricket Board on Friday morning (UK time) said the visitors were unable to field a team for the final Test of the series due to a fear of further cases of COVID-19.
Several members of India's support staff have tested positive to the coronavirus in the past week.
"Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth Test between England and India Men due to start today at Emirates Old Trafford, will be cancelled," the statement read.
"Due to fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases inside the camp, India are regrettably unable to field a team.
"We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news, which we know will cause immense disappointment and inconvenience to many.
"Further information will be shared in due course."
It's yet to be confirmed whether or not the match will be rescheduled or what it means for the result of the series, which India currently lead 2-1.
The lucrative Indian Premier League, which was called off earlier this year due to a spike in COVID cases, is due to re-start in the UAE in just nine days.
India head coach Ravi Shastri had tested positive to COVID-19 during the previous Test at The Oval, alongside bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar, but that Test continued after the remaining members of the squad returned negative tests.
The trio had remained in isolation while the two teams moved on to Old Trafford, before physio Yogesh Parmar reportedly tested positive on Wednesday.
The ECB said on Thursday that further PCR tests carried out on India's players and staff had all come back negative, seemingly allowing the final Test to go ahead as planned.
But barely two hours before the match was due to start on Friday, news came through that the game had been cancelled.
More to come ...