Coronavirus Prevention: Sports and Exercise

Coronavirus prevention is affecting every area of people's lives, and sports and exercise are no exception. Many international sports organizations have cancelled events, but it's also important to think about the sports and exercise you do on a smaller scale.

Coronavirus prevention: what is the coronavirus?

Before we talk about coronavirus prevention in terms of sports and exercise, let’s clarify what we’re talking about. This illness is a virus that’s spread around the world exponentially since December of 2019.

This particular strain of the virus is called COVID-19, and it started its journey in Wuhan, China. Experts believe that it mutated there from a virus that only affected animals to the strain that can be passed between humans.

Coronaviruses have already caused three large epidemics in humans:

• SARS: this is a severe respiratory syndrome that broke out in 2002. It started in China, affected 8,000 people, and the mortality rate was over 10 percent.
• MERS-CoV: this strain of the coronavirus appeared in 2012 and initially started in Saudia Arabia. It’s deadly and continues to infect people, but there have only been 2,400 total confirmed cases so far.
• COVID-19: this is the outbreak we’re dealing with today that started in China. The mortality rate is between three and four percent, although the numbers change every day. So far, there are more than 81,000 cases in China, over 24,000 in Italy, nearly 14,000 in Iran, and more than 7,800 in Spain. Worldwide, there are more than 181,000 people with the virus, and 7,114 have died.

Quarantine and limited contact in sports: coronavirus prevention

The social distancing measures that people are taking all over the world have one goal in mind: to flatten the curve of infection. This is in an attempt to try and prevent a large number of people from being infected and overwhelming the health systems.

Quarantines, the six-foot separation between people, travel restrictions, and other measures also apply to the world of sports and exercise. All of these steps create a temporary window that allows the health care system to meet the demand.

In terms of portion events, it makes sense to cancel large public gatherings. This is a basic measure related to quarantine.

This rule should also apply to smaller sporting events. You can’t just think about professional soccer games, for example. When a country has gotten to the local transmission stage, the authorities should close gyms and pools.

Athletes over 60 years old are more at risk, as well as those with chronic illness. These people should take social distancing measures very seriously, even in countries that haven’t closed sports and exercise centers.

Coronavirus prevention methods in the sports and exercise world

The same coronavirus prevention methods that people are practicing, in general, should also be applied to sports and exercise. They’ll reduce the spread of infection and slow the propagation of the virus.

Experts recommend these general measures:

• Washing your hands with soap, or alcohol in gel form if no water is available.
• When you cough, cover your mouth and nose with the inside of your elbow or a tissue.
• Disinfect the surface of everyday objects such as your cell phone as often as you can.
• Don’t touch your face, eyes or mouth with your hands, unless you just washed your hands.
• Call your doctor (but don’t rush to the hospital) if you have symptoms such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath.

Sports are part of our lives

It’s important to understand that coronavirus prevention in the world of sports and exercise highlights the fact that exercise is part of who we are as human beings. Millions of people are involved in sports, and it’s people who spread the virus.

Consequently, it’s the responsibility of the official sports associations as well as the athletes to try to help stop the spread of COVID-19. We all have to work together!