England's tour of South Africa was cancelled on Monday due to a mounting sense of anxiety about the presence of coronavirus in the team hotel, leaving two members of the travelling party awaiting the results of follow-up tests.
When the unnamed duo tested positive over the weekend the writing was on the wall for the trip, which started with England sealing a 3-0 whitewash in the Twenty20 leg before three attempts to get the ODI series off the ground had to be aborted.
Since convening for the tour three South African players and two members of hotel staff have also tested positive for Covid-19, leading to a widespread lack of confidence in the so-called 'bio-secure environment' of the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands.
"At the moment I don't think there's anyone who can tell us where these instances have sprung up from. In our group it created a great deal of anxiety. It came down to a well-being thing in the end.
"I don't think it's the last three weeks, it could be the last eight or nine months. These guys have been living in bubbles for long periods of time and their mental health and well-being is the absolute priority for us.
"If we consistently say that's the most important thing for us, when we're tested we can't move away from that."
Asked if players would be asked if they were comfortable about travelling in the new year, with planned visits to Sri Lanka and India, Giles added: "Absolutely. On the back of this an important part of it will be mental health screening.
"All of us want this period to be over sooner rather than later. In the meantime, post-Christmas we are going to have to manage our bubbles well and manage our people really well."
