The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Saturday issued the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) guidelines for high-performance athletes who had tested positive for coronavirus and are currently training at different SAI centers.
Under the new SOP that has been defined as “Graduated Return to Play” (GRTP), all SAI officials and centers have been asked to monitor the progression of athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are undergoing training at different SAI facilities.
This step has been taken up after several men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers were reported positive for Covid-19 in the national camp at the SAI Sonepat center. Few female wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat and her coach Om Prakash Dahiya too tested positive for COVID-19 and were home quarantined. From 10th October the national camp for women freestyle wrestlers will start at the SAI Lucknow center.
SAI issues SOP for “Graduated Return to Play” (GRTP) for high-performance athletes who are training at SAI centres and tested positive for #COVID19
Details: https://t.co/FQSLYzceUN@IndiaSports @KirenRijiju @RijijuOffice
— #IndiaFightsCorona (@COVIDNewsByMIB) October 3, 2020
Earlier it was reported, that a team hockey player, including captain Manpreet Singh, returned COVID positive after their arrival for the camp at the SAI Bengaluru center.
As per an SAI statement, the SOP has been divided into three categories –
Category One: COVID-19 positive & asymptomatic (mild localized symptoms that resolve within 10 days)
Category Two: COVID-19 positive & prolonged course (regional/systemic symptoms for more than 10 days) or severe symptoms that required hospitalization
Category Three: COVID-19 positive & symptoms during GRTP progression (post-recovery complications)
Therefore, under these new guidelines, all the SAI officials have been assigned instructions and are given new responsibilities in regards to the training of the athletes who tested positive for COVID-19. They have been assigned to identify medical and paramedical experts to allocate at each center to ensure clinical assessment of Covid-19 infection on the athletes and implementation of the guidelines stated within the SOP. These designated medical and paramedical experts are being instructed to ensure clarity with regards to the GRTP progression in the result of the post-COVID-19 Infection clinical assessment.
Further, coaches have been instructed to plan a physical activity at 50 percent of normal intensity and volume for an otherwise healthy patient with a self-limiting course of Covid-19, who has been asymptomatic for 7 days.
The medical and paramedical staffs have been asked to monitor the progress of the athletes regularly and give advice to athletes and coaches for gradual recommencement of training. Athletes would be monitored before, during, and after the exercise sessions and if any unwarranted symptoms are there then it should be reported to the medical team for further consideration.