Courtney Francis, the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) chief executive officer, says preparation is taking shape ahead of Ireland’s arrival for the One-Day International (ODI) series and one-off Twenty20 (T20) against West Indies next month.

“The preparation is in high gear and we are working to ensure we put things in place as per the approval by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and the Ministry of Health,” he said on Friday, in reference to adhering to the Jamaican Government’s guidelines for staging international sporting events during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Irishmen are expected to land in Jamaica on December 31 for the series which is scheduled to run from January 8 to 16, and is only Ireland’s second full white-ball tour to the West Indies.

Given the conditions under which the Government gave approval to stage the matches at Sabina Park in Kingston, Francis noted that Cricket West Indies (CWI) is working alongside local authorities to ensure only a designated number of vaccinated people can gain entry to the venue.

Francis said that process, which hinges on streamlining CWI’s ticket sales operations with the Government’s event authorisation system, is expected to be completed this week.

“We got approval for 2,000 spectators in the George Headley Stand, 200 for the Kingston Cricket Club [stand], and to allow a third of the seating capacity of the boxes.

“But there is a challenge as it relates to the ticket sales, because there is an interface [event authorisation system] that must be used. We must use the local platform that is manned by the Government because all the people at the park will have to be vaccinated,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

He noted that, under normal circumstances, a single box at the venue can hold up to 20 people, while the George Headley Stand has a seating capacity of roughly 7,000.

The JCA chief executive said no spectators will be allowed in the North Stand. That section of the ground will be occupied by players, match officials, and journalists stationed in their media area.

In August, when Jamaica hosted a two-Test series between West Indies and Pakistan, neither vaccinated or unvaccinated people were allowed into the stands. Then, the Jamaican Government was grappling with a surge in novel coronavirus cases, and outside of television and radio broadcast crews, even the media were barred.

The Government first used the event authorisation system in November when it gave the Jamaica Football Federation approval to permit 5,000 spectators for the Fifa World Cup qualifier between the Reggae Boyz and United States at the National Stadium.

Francis told the Observer the situation remains fluid.

“Things can change any time… So we’re keeping our fingers crossed, but we are putting in the plans.

“The Government has made it absolutely clear that the current position can be overturned because they are watching the new [Omicron] variant. Depending on what direction things are moving in the possibility exists that other options may become viable, like games being played behind closed doors, or it being called off or being played with a [further] reduced number of spectators,” he explained.

Ireland and the Windies are to play three ODIs on January 8, 11 and 14, to be followed by the T20 International on January 16.

The tour is expected to be a farewell for iconic Jamaica and West Indies cricketer Christopher Gayle. The left-hand batsman has been captain of the West Indies in all formats of the game.